The Cybermen Invasion of Newport
by D-von-tainstain
Summary: Newport is invaded by the Cybermen. Who can save the OC? Perhaps only a strange little man who travels in a blue box...Crossover with Doctor Who.
1. Prologue

The Invasion of Newport

The Cybermen Invasion of Newport

A Doctor Who/OC crossover.

For Doctor Who, this takes place between The Curse of Fenric and Survival.

For the OC, it takes place after the Goodbye Girl.

…..

Newport Beach had been invaded.

By a heat wave.

Even though the sun had set long ago, the outside still felt like a furnace. Most Newportians were staying inside, sleeping as close as they could to fans and the AC.

For the youth of Newport, however, who liked to stay away from preying eyes, however, there were always other places to go, or break into.

'Don't bogart that' Bill said as he grabbed the flask from the drunk girl. He was too drunk to remember her name at the moment.

'Bogart?' she asked.

'I heard it on some show, it means give me some of that bottle' he replied.

His parents would have freaked if they knew. As far as they knew, he was staying faithful to some stuck-up bitch who wouldn't put out. With the heat wave, he was afraid they were going to have to skip tonight. Fortunately, he found this new building. It was some science center or something stupid like that. It was built by the Newport Group, like most of the buildings there, for some British company. He didn't really care about that, only that for some reason, they had a huge cooling center in the basement.

What it was for, he didn't know. All it had were chambers, but they had nothing in them. It looked like they were built to house, well, people. Pretty big ones, too, by the size of them.

He didn't really care about that, though. He had far more interesting things to focus on.

He was distracted when he heard a weird, clicking sound. He looked to see a door had lifted up, a door he hadn't noticed. There was no light, but he could make out a tall man staring at them. Judging by the weird figure on top, a man with a strange taste in hats.

'What're you standing for, perv, you like to watch!?' he yelled. Maybe this guy would get embarrassed and go away, giving him enough time to get out. Instead, the man started to walk up to them.

Crap. He turned and got to run, when he felt a hand grab his shoulder.

He gasped in pain. Who ever this guy was, he was strong. Stronger than anyone he had met.

'Okay, okay, you got us!' he said, throwing his hands. Despite this, the figure made no response, and instead turned the other way, dragging them with him.

Jesus, he was strong.

Still, he wasn't too worried. His parents would be pissed, but they were friends with Caleb Nichol, so he doubted he have any charges pressed against him.

He took them through the door, into a large room. The light went on, and he finally got a look at the guy.

He gasped in surprise. He was wearing a costume. His body was covered with some kind of metallic wrapping. He was wearing a weird metal mask, with large hands and handlebars on the side.

Great, he been caught by some kind of freak. He looked around to see other guys also dressed like this. They all looked the same, save for one, whose handlebars were black.

'I caught these two in the stasis chambers' his captor spoke. The girl was pretty out of it, but even she recognized the weird, deep, metallic tone he said this in.

'If we let them go, they will tell others' another said, sounding exactly the same.

Wait, did he say 'If they let them go.' What did they mean? They couldn't keep him here, could they?

'Is the conversion chamber operating yet' a third asked. Another nodded, and went over to a large machine, and pressed buttons on a console. The huge thing seemed to light up.

One came up and grabbed the girl, and brought her over to the machine. They put her on a table leading into the machine, like an assembly line. They strapped her in, and then pressed another button. As Bill watched in horror, she went into the machine.

'Okay, what the fuck is going on!' he demanded. Then, he heard what sounded like power tools inside the machine. Then he heard her scream. It was a terrible, horrible thing, agonizing.

'What are you doing to her!?' he demanded, less out of a concern for a loved one and more out of a general humanity. Again, no one reacted to him.

Then, to his horror, they brought him over to the machine. He struggled to break free, but the guy holding him didn't even budge. It was like the guy wasn't human.

That was impossible, though. Wasn't it.

He efforts continued to be in vain as he was strapped down.

'What's going on! What's going to happen to me!?" he demanded, tears running down.

One of them leaned in to him.

'You will be like us.'


	2. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

Seth slumbered into the kitchen, his eyes barley open.

"Hey, you know how in ancient times when the weather was bad they would sacrifice someone so the gods would make it better" he quipped as he sat down.

"You volunteering buddy?" replied Ryan, not taking his eyes off the morning paper.

"Ah, I see my humor is rubbing off on you' he replied dryly as he poured his cereal. He then turned to his adopted brother.

"Hey, you think that goes both ways? Maybe now I'm a tough guy who can knock out someone with one punch"

"Son, if I were you, I wouldn't put that theory to the test" commented Sandy as he put the spread on his beagle.

"Mom! Dad and Ryan are making fun of me!" whined Seth.

"Honey, I really don't have the time right now" Kristen said as she entered, in her business clothes, a piece of toast being held on to by her mouth.

"Please don't tell me you're going be at work all day again?" asked Sandy.

"I know, I'm sorry, it's this new client of ours. They're building this new science center, and they're worried about security."

"Yeah, you build a science center, you might as well leave out the carpet for thieves" commented Seth.

"I know, Dad and I keep telling them they're worrying about nothing, but they keep insisting to see us. I don't know, maybe it's cultural or something, they're British" answered Kirsten as she searched her purse for her keys.

"British, huh?" said Ryan.

"Yeah, they're called International Electromatics."

Seth's head jerked up.

"International Electromatics?"

His family all looked at him, confused.

"Yeah, you heard of them?" asked Kirsten.

"Yeah, back in the '60s they were the biggest computer company around. Their computer chips were, like, decades ahead of their time. The head of the British Rocket Group said if it weren't for them, there was no way they would landed on Mars."

He then noticed the look on his family's faces.

"What?"

Ryan sighed.

"You are such a nerd" he said as he got up.

"Really? Well, would a nerd be spending the day with Summer Roberts?"

"I wouldn't have though so, but apparently yes" answered Ryan as he put his plate in the dishwasher and stepped outside.

"Where are you going?" asked Sandy.

"I'm going to go for a run, I should be back in an hour or two."

"Oh, good, I was feeling good about my body lately, but that takes cares of that."

Ryan turned around to face Seth.

"Seth, piece of advice: don't tell Summer you pay attention to my body, it won't reflect well.'

Seth gave him the finger.

- - - - -

The beach was crowded that day, no surprise given the heat. Marissa Cooper and Summer Roberts had come there to take in some sun, but after three different spots ended with three different kids falling on them, they decided to pack up.

"So, Seth tells me Theresa's gone" said Summer, trying to start up a conversation.

"Yeah, she said she missed Chino" answered Marissa, not comfortable with the subject.

"So, does that mean you and Ryan…?"

"I don't know. We're still dealing with the…Oliver thing."

"Oh yeah. That."

"He doesn't trust me. And why should he, because clearly I didn't trust him."

"Well, and don't tell Ryan or Seth I said this, but why should have you? He broke into the school, he stole a letter from your locker, he was acting like a crazy stalker."

"Yeah, I don't think telling him that is going to make him want to take back."

Summer sighed.

"You know, he called me yesterday" Marissa began.

"Ryan?"

"No, Oliver."

Summer's eyes went wide with panic.

"Oh God, what he did you say? Did you call the police-"

"No, he's still in the hospital. He just…wanted to apologize. He said he was getting new pills, that he's getting better, and that when they let him out, his parents were proably going to move him across the country."

"What did you say?"

Marissa shrugged.

"I accepted, what could I have done? He was sick, and he never tried to hurt me."

"How do you think Ryan's going to react?"

"He won't, because I'm not going to tell him, and neither are you."

"Gotcha, Coop, you can count of me."

"You can't tell Seth, either."

"What? Oh come on, Coop, that's not fair!" she pleaded. Marissa gave her a glstr, something, Summer thought, she proably picked up from Ryan.

She held up her arms in defeat.

"Fine, fine."

She looked around, to see if there was a spot they could take, when she noticed something weird.

"What's that?" she pointed.

"What's what?"

"That, that blue box."

They both walked up it. It was standing near some trees, out of the way.

"How long has this been here?" asked Summer.

"I don't know, I think it's new" answered Marissa.

They looked up to the top, to see wording.

"'Police Public Call Box'" read Marissa.

"Here, on the other side, there's a sign on the door" gestured Summer.

POLICE TELEPHONE

FREE

FOR USE OF

PUBLIC

ADVICE & ASSITANCE

OBTAINABLE IMMEDATLEY

OFFICER & CARS

RESPOND TO ALL CALLS

PULL TO OPEN

"I guess it's to call the police, like if your cell phone dies or something" Summer guessed.

"Why does it look so old, then? And why is it here, where most people won't notice?"

Summer shrugged, and then tried to open the door. However, it wouldn't budge.

"Here, let me try" offered Marissa, as she tried to open it. No luck.

"Well, it's old, maybe it welted or something" offered Summer.

"I hope. I don't think we're that weak, are we?"

Summer smiled. She then looked at her watch.

"Ooh! I'm sorry, Coop, but I have this thing with Cohen."

"Don't worry about it. I can whine to you tonight"

They hugged, and Summer took off. Marissa decided to head home, but stared at the blue box a little longer. There was something about it…

- - -

As Ryan ran along the beach, something occurred to him.

He was actually fitting in here. Here, Newport.

He remembered when he first came here, when the Cohens and Marissa were seemingly the only ones who didn't act like he was about to mug them. Slowly, though, more and more opened up to him. First Summer, then Luke, of all people. Now, it seemed like the students at Harbor saw him as one of them. Their parents were a different story, but at least now they kept their whispers when he wasn't around. Even Kirsten's father, Caleb, seemed to have reluctantly accepted him, if only to please Kirsten. He hadn't even said anything to him after fight with Eddie when he got his Man of the Year award.

Of course, he felt trusted before. Back before Oliver.

He knew that kid was trouble almost from the start. However, despite his pleas, the people he came to trust thought it was simply jealousy. Ironically, the only allies Ryan found were Luke, who had punched him his first night in Newport, and Julie, Marissa's mother who had once forbidden him to see her.

Of course, they quickly apologized when Oliver revealed his true self. He'd forgiven the Cohens, because, after all, they took a chance with him, he owed them. However, relations with Marissa had suffered, even though part of Ryan wanted to accept her back immediately.

It wouldn't have been like this in Chino. There, he would have told Trey his worries, and the Atwood brothers, along with Arturo and Eddie, would have beat Oliver to a pulp and warn him never to mess with them again. Things in Chino were tough, of course, and he never regretted leaving it, but at times he missed problems that could be solved with fists.

"What the fuck are you trying to pull, Mary Poppins?"

Ryan left his thoughts and turned to see a group of men holding a blonde-haired girl.

"You think we're idiots? You think we're going to fall for fake money!?"

Ryan recognized the group as local pot dealers. Apparently something gone amiss in this attempted purchase.

"I'm sorry, this is all a mistake!" said the girl, in a accent that identified her as British.

"Damn right, one you're going to pay for!" said one of them, as he pulled out a knife.

Ryan sighed, and ran over. Some things were universal, whether in Chino and Newport.

- - -

"Cohen, what are we doing?" asked Summer, annoyed.

Seth sighed and turned here.

"Listen, you know I like the…well, sex. That we have" he started to explain.

"You better have!" yelled Summer.

"All right, all right! But, well, I was thinking we could, well, mix it up every once a while."

"Oh, God, Cohen, I am NOT doing any three-sums!"

"No, no, nothing like that. But I thought, maybe we could do it, you know, somewhere we aren't supposed to."

Summer calmed down. She was interested.

"Listen, my Grandpa built this place for a British company. They're building a science center, but they also have all these storage buildings around Newport. And I heard my mother say they do NOT take well to trespassers.'

Summer smiled. She admitted, the danger did add something to it. They embraced, and leaned against one of the chambers. Summer took off her shirt.

"Okay, Cohen, I admit, this is actually a good idea"

"Yeah, I know"

"Was it Ryan's?"

"What? Are you saying I can't think of anything romantic on my own?"

"Well, I don't think it's a coincidence that your love life started when he came here"

"Hey, I'll-"

Seth suddenly stopped, and looked around the room.

"What? Cohen, what is it?"

"Summer, be quiet. I think I hear something"

"What?"

But then, she started to hear it as well. Sounded like someone was tapping on the glass chambers. Seth took out his flash light, and turned it on. After waving it around the room, he saw someone.

He was a short man, wearing a brown coat and a straw hat. His shirt beneath the coat was covered with red question marks. This seemed to be a theme with him; there was also a question mark at the end of his umbrella.

The man was examining the chamber, when he turned and saw Seth and Summer.

"Oh, hello" he said in a Scottish accent. He tipped his hat. He then went back to whatever he was doing.

"Ummm, hi" replied Seth after a moment. He didn't seem dangerous, so they walked up closer to him.

"So, what are you doing? Setting a trap for Batman?" asked Seth.

The man turned to him, confused. Seth pointed to his question mark shirt.

"Uh, the question marks, you know, like the Riddler."

"Oh!" said the man. He smiled, and patted Seth on the shoulder. "Yes, quite clever."

Summer grabbed Seth.

"Cohen, I don't know who this guy is, but he's freaking me out! Let's get out of here!" she growled.

"She has a point, young Cohen" the strange man replied, rolling the O as he pronounced Cohen. "I could be a very dangerous man."

"Um, are you?" asked Seth.

The man's head went up, as if he were pondering the question.

"I suppose that depends on who's answering the question. And who's asking it." He then back to inspecting the chamber, looking through wires connected to the console that controlled it.

"Okay, I see that whoever you are, you like being mysterious."

The man chuckled, but continued on his work.

"Okay, about we just introduce ourselves. I'm Summer Roberts, and this is Seth Cohen" Summer began, using the skills she used at Cotillion. "What's your name?"

The man again chuckled.

"Now, there's a question with no easy answer. However, my friends call me the Doctor. And as you two seem an amiable enough pair, why not call me that?"

"Uh, okay, 'Doctor.' So, which ya doing there?" asked Seth.

"Well, I suppose you can I'm inspecting these chambers, making sure they're of sufficient quality" answered the Doctor.

"Okay, that makes sense. What are these chambers for, anyway?" asked Summer, having been too distracted before to notice them.

"A very good question. What would you keep in freezing temperatures?"

"Ice cream?" Summer spoke, before realizing what she said. "Sorry, that was stupid."

"No, no, it's a sensible answer, given which you know. Ice Cream is always in great demand, and anyone selling it needs some place cold to keep it" the Doctor replied.

"Oh, thanks" said Summer.

"However, as someone with much experience breaking into things, I can say with great certainty that whoever made these things did not want them opened by the wrong hands. These are tougher to crack than most prisons of this era."

"Okay, I guess I'll have to take your word for that" said Seth, staying close to Summer.

"Thank you. Now, I have not been in Newport long, but do its citizens view Ice Cream as a vanishing resource?"

"No" answered Summer. She knew it was probably a rhetorical question, but this Doctor person was so weird, she couldn't be certain.

"Yes. Notice, also the size of these chambers."

Seth realized what he was getting at.

"They're for people!"

"An excellent deduction, Seth" the Doctor replied. Seth smiled. He didn't know who this Doctor was, but he seemed smart, and he liked the compliment.

"Oh, so are these for people to freeze themselves, like Walt Disney? So they could live for centuries?" asked Summer.

"Very close. The people who go inside are looking for eternal youth, but I'm afraid they do not plan to spend a large amount of time in them"

The Doctor picked up a device and attached it to a chamber. He then reached into his pocket, and pulled out two ear muffs. He tossed them to Seth.

"Put these on"

Seth looked down at them.

"Why?"

The Doctor pressed a button the device, and it started ticking.

"Because, Seth and Summer, I would be a very poor friend not to prepare you for something very loud."

Seth and Summer quickly put the muffs on, and started to run, followed by the Doctor. They were up the stairs when they heard a high-pitched noise. They stopped running, and covered their ears. After a few seconds, the noise stopped.

"What just happened….?" muttered Seth. He and Summer looked up. The Doctor was no where to be found. They rushed down, to see that all the chambers had been shattered.

- - -

"Are we sure it's him" asked one.

"Who else could it be?" answered another.

One of them pointed accusingly at their leader.

"You said the Doctor would not be a factor!"

"Our computers showed that he would be unlikely to be here in this time and place!" their leader answered. "In any case, it was of no consequence, what he destroyed was just one of many chambers we have. It will be a minor incontinence, nothing more."

"We must seek and destroy him" one suggested.

"No! It is too early for us to risk being seen!"

"You suggest we do nothing?"

"Of course not! The man we are working with, Caleb Nichol. Our intelligence suggests he is not above employing men for work their culture considers 'unsavory'"

"Very well."

"It matters not anyway" their leader concluded. "We are days away until competition. The Doctor can not stop us now. In less than a year, we will have converted the entirety of the human race. Earth will become New Mondas, and the universe will have a new history! One in which the Cybermen will emerge triumphant!"


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"There, that should do it"

The Doctor smiled as the console lighted up. They would arrive at their destination in no time.

"Well, it may have taken seven lives, but I think I've finally got you working" he commented as he pat the console.

To tell the truth, he missed it. Not knowing where they were going to show up, each location a mystery to be solved. But no, there would be time for that later. long far as he didn't fail, there would be time for everything later.

The door to the console room opened, and in walked a young blonde woman, not looking very eager. He noted she had changed back into her 'local' clothing, hopefully having put the vintage 40s dress back in the wardrobe instead of letting it lay around.

"Ah, Ace, you're up. I trust you enjoyed your sleep, you certainly deserved it" the Doctor beamed at her.

She forced a smile.

"It was fine, Doctor."

Doctor. She referred to him as the Doctor, he noted. Granted, he had tried make her refer to him as that when they first met, before he reluctantly accepted that her annoying nickname for him, 'Professor.' He never liked it. Doctors were explorers, determined to find the truth, to help others. Professors decided they had learned enough, and were content to write books and look down on others.

But the way she used it, with none of the enthusiasm she used before…

"You're just in time, we're just about to arrive" he announced, showing none of his concern in his voice.

"Arrive where?"

"Newport Beach, early 21st century."

"Beach? After what we just went through?"

"Oh come now, Ace, what better way to celebrate getting over your fear of drowning? Besides, I'm sure a bright young girl like you could find someway to amuse yourself. Here-"

The Doctor reached out of his pocket, and handed her a wad of bills.

"Newport is known for its wealth, so you'll find this handy."

"Great, a bunch of rich snobs."

"Now, now, Ace, what have I told you about judging cultures before meeting them?"

Ace smiled slightly. She went over to the door as it opened. She turned back to face the Doctor.

"You coming?"

"Actually, Ace, why don't you go on ahead? I'm going to spend the day gathering information. Enjoy yourself."

Ace forcibly smiled as she walked away.

"Ace-"

Ace once again turned to face him.

"None of what I said was true. Not one word. You know that, don't you?"

Ace nodded.

"Sure, Professor."

- -

Ace handed over bills, and took the bag.

"A pleasure doing business with you" the man said as he started to examine the cash.,

Ace smiled. It had been a long time since she did pot. Not since she met the Doctor. It was understandable, of course. Since then, she had been in time periods she didn't think they had it, alien planets where for all she knew it would turn out to be alive, or too busy running from Daleks or extra-dimensional knights to find some.

Now, though, she had finally gotten some downtime. And God knows after what she just went through, she could use some.

"What the hell is this?" the dealer asked.

Uh-oh.

"Umm, what do you mean?"

"I mean this money, what the hell? Look at it!"

She grabbed one of the bills and examined it. It was a 30 bill. She didn't recognize the man on it, a smiling big-eared black man. She then noticed the year it was printed. 2054.

Great. The Doctor had given her money that wouldn't be printed for another half century.

She felt two men grab her.

"What the fuck are you trying to pull, Mary Poppins?"

She was more frustrated than scared. She was hoping to be able to relax. Now, she was in for another fight.

"You think we're idiots? You think we're going to fall for fake money!?"

"I'm sorry, this is all a mistake!" she said, trying to solve one last shot to solve this peacefully. The leader then pulled out a knife. So much for that.

"Damn right, one you're going to pay for!"

Suddenly, a blonde-haired kid ran up and grabbed his hand.

"Listen, you don't want to do this" he said sternly.

The dealer glared.

"Get the fuck out of here, Chino, this doesn't involve you" he spat out.

"Yeah, well, I'm making myself involved" the blonde-haired kid replied.

"It's all right, I can take care of this myself" said Ace, not wanting someone to get hurt because of her. She was telling the truth, too. These guys probably thought highly of themselves, but compared to werewolves and Haemovores, they might as well been toddlers. The blonde-haired kid wasn't listening, however. She saw one of the gang sneak up behind him.

"Watch out!" yelled Ace. The blonde-haired kid turned around the got a punch in the face in. Ace then grabbed one of the guys holding and hurled him over her.

"HIYA!" she yelled out. She was initially skeptical when the Doctor had given her lessons in Venusian aikido, but it was coming in handy. She then felt a fist hit her in the cheek, causing her to fall.

"HEY!" yelled the blonde-haired kid. He quickly rushed over and punched the kid in the gut. He quickly fell to the ground.

The blonde-haired kid then helped Ace.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Fine. Trust me, I've been worse" she replied.

He then noticed the head dealer rushing up behind her, knife in hand. Instinctively, he pushed Ace out of the way and grabbed the guy's hand. Unfortunately, he chose the hand with the knife.

"Uhh!" grunted the blonde-haired kid as he pulled back, he hand gushing with blood. The dealer had no time to gloat. The last thing he saw before waking up in the hospital was Ace's fist.

The blonde-haired kid was holding his wounded hand.

"Oh God, how bad is it?" asked Ace.

"It's fine, I've had worse" he replied, trying to smile despite the pain.

"We gotta get you to the hospital" said Ace.

"No, no! It's fine, I can deal with it at home" he replied.

Ace sighed.

"Fine, but I'm coming with you" she said.

The kid was about to argue, but the pain was getting to be too much.

"Ryan Atwood. I'd hold out my hand, but-" he shrugged.

"Ace. Ace McShane."

- -

Caleb and Kirsten had already been waiting for ½ hour when Mr. Stoney finally showed up.

"About time" Caleb muttered. Kirsten shot him a look as he shook Stoney's hand.

"Sorry I'm late, but something came up. There's been another break-in."

"Mr. Stoney, we're very sorry. I assure you, we here at the Newport Group take security very seriously-" Kirsten began.

"With all due respect, Mrs. Cohen, we would prefer results to apologies" said Stoney, cutting her off.

"Of course" said Caleb, rising from his seat. "I assure you, whoever broke in will be dealt with swiftly-"

"Exactly when I wanted to talk to you about."

He eyed Kirsten.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Cohen, but I would like to talk to your father alone on this matter."

Kirsten was confused, but nodded.

"All, all right. I'm going to head home, then, okay dad?"

"Sure, Kiki"

Kirsten kissed her father on the cheek before leaving. Caleb then looked at Stoney, annoyed.

"All right, what did you have to tell me alone."

Stoney opened his briefcase and tossed ten photographs on the desk.

"You see, we know who broke in. He – well, they – have been causing my employers trouble for a very long time."

"They?" asked Caleb.

"A group of men. They each call themselves the Doctor."

Caleb studied the photos. The first one was an old, white-haired man; the second was younger, with hair resembling the Beatles; the third looked like a dandy, with big, puffy, white hair; the fourth looked like a bohemian, with sharp teeth, curly hair, and a long scarf; the fifth was a young, blonde-haired man, wearing a cricket uniform; the sixth had the hair of Harpo Marx and the ugliest coat he had ever seen; the seventh was a short man wearing a shirt covered with question marks, a brown coat, and a corncob hat; the eighth had long hair and seemingly dressed like a cowboy; the ninth had a big nose and big ears, and wore a black leather coat; and the tenth was a young brown-haired man wearing a brown coat.

"So, these people-"

"Though there have been instances of more than one appearing together, it's rare and unlikely. It's probably just one."

Caleb paced the room for a moment.

"All right, we'll call the police-"

"Actually, Mister Nichol, we were hoping you would take a, uhm, more personal approach."

Caleb eyed Stoney.

"What do you mean?"

Stoney paused for a moment, thinking on how best to precede.

"My employers did a lot of research on you and the Newport Group, Mr. Nichol. They know that they're have been times, when, well, you have bent the law, shall we say."

"I do not know what you're talking about" Caleb replied immediately. "Any claims my involvement in criminal activity have been proven false."

"Mister Nichol, your daughter isn't here. Could you please drop the act so we can get on to business?"

Caleb sighed.

"What are you asking?"

"You must have employed men to, well, convince people to see things your way."

Caleb paused for a moment before nodding.

"We want you to hire these men to find this Doctor, whichever one it is-"

"And convince him to leave Newport?"

"Actually, we want him turned over to us."

Caleb's eyes went up.

"Mister Stoney, having someone beat up is one thing, but, well…what do you plan to do with him?"

"That is none of your concern. Rest assured, it will never be traced back to you."

Caleb paused before continuing.

"No. I've done…things I'm not proud of, but I will not be part of this."

Stoney smiled.

"Mister Nichol, we know the trouble the Newport Group is in."

"Troubles? What are you-?"

"Like I said, my employers have done their research. And we know you need this deal with us to go through."

Caleb froze.

"Relax, Mister Nichol. No one will know, and you and your family can go on living your life of luxury."

Caleb sighed. He picked up the phone and dialed.

"Kevin? I have a new job for you."


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"You're sure it wasn't Uncle Shamus?"

Seth sighed in frustration.

"No, dad, he was Scottish, not Irish. And he had hair" he explained.

Sandy paced the room. Ten minutes earlier, Seth and Summer had rushed into the house, looking as if they been running from the Devil himself. Once Sandy got them to calm down, they told him what had happened. They had gone to the basement of the facility Caleb built ('to study,' according to Seth), where they met this weird little man who called himself 'the Doctor.' After having a short discussion with him, the man had somehow caused all the glass chambers to shatter, and then had simply vanished.

Sandy wasn't sure what to make of it. It sounded ridiculous. Life in Newport may seem like a soap opera, but even by those standards, a mysterious man who had devices that shattered glass was a bit…out there. Normally, he'd think Seth was making it up, but Summer had backed him up 100. If they had to make up a story, surely she would have made him choose something more believable?

"Seriously, Dad, you have to call the police" Seth demanded.

"Let's calm down for a moment-"

"Calm down!? There's a madman loose in Newport! Who knows where he's going to strike next!?"

Seth had to admit that the thought of Newport being destroyed did hold some appeal to him. He drew a comic about it in the third grade. He thought it was really good, but Luke stole it.

"Son, I think you're being a little overdramatic-"

"Help!" yelled a voice.

The three rushed into the living room, where they found Ryan leaning on the shoulder of a blonde girl. They then noticed his hand, wrapped up and bleeding.

"Dear God, Ryan, what happened?" yelled Sandy as he ran over to him, lifting him off the girl.

"I'm sorry, it's my fault, he was helping me-" Ace began.

"Wow, Ryan got hurt helping a girl, that's new" commented Seth.

"Cohen!" yelled Summer, punching him in the arm. "Not the time for jokes!"

"Seth, Summer, get the emergency kit!" Sandy ordered.

Sandy lead Ryan to the couch and let him down.

Kirsten sipped her coffee as she read the newspaper. She decided to stop at a coffeeshop on the way home from work, since she hadn't had the time to enjoy herself this morning.

"Kirsten!"

Kirsten looked up to see Julie Cooper heading over to her table. Looked like she wouldn't have a chance to enjoy herself now either. "Julie!" she said as she stood up to greet her friend.

Julie then sat down, an eager smile on her face. "So, Kirsten, what time should we come over tomorrow?"

Kirsten nearly spit out her coffee. "What?"

Julie still smiled. "Don't you remember, Kiki? We have to plan the charity event next month. You know, to save the apes?"

Kirsten thought for a moment. "Oh, right. Listen, Julie, I've been so swamped at work, I completely forgot. Could we reschedule?"

"Oh, Kiki, we've haven't gotten together in so long. Come on, I'll help."

"I don't know…"

"Kirsten, it's for the apes. Jimmy told me how much you cried at the end of _King Kong_!"

Kirsten just stared at her.

"What?" asked Julie.

"Jimmy was right. You _are _having sex."

Julie shifted uncomfortably. "I – I don't know what you're talking about"

"Julie, I've known you for over a decade now, I know how you work. Whenever you're being calm and…sweet, it's because you and Jimmy were…you know."

Julie turned red. "Kirsten, that's ridiculous. I just have…okay, fine. Yes, I have someone. But I can't tell you who."

Kirsten patted Julie's shoulder. "As long as he isn't related to me, Julie, I'm happy for you."

Julie peeked at her watch. "Ooh! I have to go. I'll come by later, okay?"

"Sure"

Julie left the table.

"You seem to be a very charitable people, here in Newport" commented a voice.

Kirsten looked up to see a strangely dressed man. "Excuse me?" she asked.

"Well, what with all the charitable events that seem to happen here" the man as he took Julie's former seat.

"You're giving us too much credit. It's just an excuse to get drunk and gossip. We give money to a cause so we can sleep at night" explained Kirsten.

"Well, some might say that's the only reason anyone gives to charity. To soothe the guilt that they feel for being more fortunate than others."

The man put out his hand. "Oh, where are my manners, I haven't introduced myself. Doctor John Smith."

Kirsten shook the Doctor's hand.

"Oh, Doctor? What field?"

"Oh, a little of everything. Why limit yourself, after all?"

"So, you're new to Newport? Are you planning to move here?"

"No, I'm afraid I'm here on business. Which is why, Mrs. Cohen, I came to talk to you."

Kirsten's smile faded, and her body tensed up. "Why?"

"You're company, International Electromatics, correct?"

"Yes" replied Kirsten.

"I assume you're aware of the company's history, specifically its dissolution back in 1970?"

Kirsten nodded. "Yes, of course. Apperarently their CEO was selling secrets to the Russians."

The Doctor smiled "I'm afraid that this new incarnation may also be involved in shady dealings."

Kirsten stared at the man for a moment. "So, you work for the government?"

"At times. In any case, I would just like for you to keep an eye out on your partners."

The Doctor reached into his pocket and pulled out a card. Handing it to Kirsten he said "Have a good day, Mrs. Cohen. I'll get in touch with you if I need you."

The Doctor got up and left. Kirsten looked at his card. "Excuse me, wait-" As she got up, though, the Doctor had vanished into the crowd. All she could do was stare at his card, consisting of only strange lettering and a golden question mark.

- -

Daryl stood silent as he watched his friend vanish into the huge machine.

"What is the matter, Daryl?" asked a metallic voice.

"I-I don't know if I want to do this" he explained.

"Why? Don't you want to get better?"

Daryl nodded. Earlier that day, Daryl and his friends had been approached by a man in a large truck. He told them that if they went with him, he would make them better. Daryl was skeptical. Lots of people had tried to help him: friends, social workers, crazy eyebrow lawyer… None of it took, though. Daryl figured he was destined to live life in the gutter. But the man said this was different. They weren't going to have to do anything; the man said he and his friends would do it for them.

"It…it looks scary" Daryl admitted.

"Go into it, Daryl, and you will never be scared again" answered the metallic being.

That sounded nice, Daryl thought, and he offered no resistance as two others escorted him to it.

His job done, the Cybermen walked up to his commander.

"Report" demanded the Cyber-Leader.

"Conversion proceeds according to plan."

"Do the humans not notice their disappearance?"

"Our monitoring shows no such concern. These humans seem to have no concern save for their wealth."

"Do not blame them, lieutenant. We, too, were once enslaved by emotions, before the Great Conservation. Soon, our sister race will share our gift."

"Leader! Incoming transmission!" called out a Cyberman on a screen. The Cyber-Leader walked over. "Report!"

"We have identified the Doctor!"

The screen then showed footage of a short man walking in a crowd.

"Excellent!" said the Cyber-Leader.

"His seventh incarnation…." Started one.

"Yes, the same one who tricked us!"

The Cyber-Leader remembered that day, 15 years ago. The Cyber-Fleet had traveled back centuries, to gain an ancient Time Lord artifact, the Nemesis statue. With its power, they were going to conquer the Earth, and create a new Cyber-Empire that would reign for eternity.

But the Doctor tricked them. He had somehow meddled with the statue, and instead of granting them power, it destroyed almost the entire fleet. It was on that day he was promoted to Cyber-Leader. The leader of only a few ships, stranded centuries in the past.

The Doctor would pay for that. That, and every other defeat the Cyber-Race had suffered at his hands.

"Contact Nichol's men. Inform them of this development" he ordered.

He wondered if the Doctor knew what the protocols installed in every Cyberman said about him. About what was to be done once the Cybermen had captured him. He was not to be killed, no, that would be a waste. He was to be converted. Not just to a mere Cyberman, but to the ruler of the entire Cyber-Race. His knowledge, not only of time travel but of tactics, of the strengths and weaknesses of numerous races… Under his leadership, the Cybermen would be invincible.


	5. Chapter 4

NOTE: Okay, I'm not going to the author who demands 20 reviews per chapter or I won't post another chapter, but anyone's reading it, reviews will certainly make me want to work on this more.

Chapter 4

"There, that should do it"

With Ryan's hand now completely bandaged, Sandy allowed himself to relax.

"Okay, it should be okay, but be careful. And if it starts bleeding again, tell me."

"Sure, Sandy, thanks again" replied Ryan.

"I don't know why we couldn't go to the hospital" commented Ace.

"I know, but I-I have a thing about them" answered Ryan.

Ace wanted to know more, but she recognized that tone, one she had used herself often enough. One that said 'I don't want to talk about it.'

Sandy then turned to the blonde girl.

"Oh, God, I just realized, I haven't introduced myself. Sandy Cohen" he said, holding out his hand. Ace took it.

"Hi, I'm Ace"

"Oh, you're British?" asked Seth.

"Yeah, Perivale"

She noted the blank looks on their faces.

"Is that near London?" asked Summer.

"It's in London, actually" answered Ace.

Seth nodded for a moment, before remembering he hadn't introduced himself.

"Oh, I'm Seth, and this is Summer."

"Hi" greeted Summer. "So, are you on vacation?"

"Kind of, I guess. I travel with someone."

"Oh, is he cute?"

Ace burst out laughing.

"Oh God, no, it's like that. I'm…more of his assistant" she replied.

"Really? What do you guys do?" asked Sandy.

Ace paused.

"We solve problems, you know, help people."

"Good for you guys. We need more people like that" said Sandy.

There was a pause, and Ace got up.

"Well, I should get going-"

Ryan got up and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Wait! I mean, do you have to go or-?" he started.

Ace was surprised for a moment.

"Uh, no, I could stay."

Once again, the Doctor cursed the Terileptil.

If it weren't for those renegade reptilians, he would still have his Sonic Screwdriver. And he wouldn't be struggling with this contraption on the outskirts of a self-obsessed town.

Again, he hit the metallic box in frustration. Despite his best efforts, deactivating it was proving too much for even his Time Lord mind.

Sighing, he got up. He would have to go back to the TARDIS. He was sure he'd have something in there.

Suddenly, something hit him in the face, and he fell to the ground. Moaning, he lifted himself up and grabbed the offending object, a spherical brown ball.

"Hey!" he heard someone yell. He turned to see a group of young men staring at him, annoyed.

"Little help?" one said, angry that this strange little man was taking so much time.

He tossed the ball at them, and then started a long walk towards the TARDIS.

'Americans' he mumbled.

"Okay, now watch this part-" started Seth, before realizing he was the only paying attention to _Spider-Man_.

Ryan and Ace seemed to be having a private chat with themselves, while Summer was glaring at them.

"Uhh, so, Ace, you enjoying the movie?"

Ace shrugged.

"It's okay. Do you have _Iron Man_?"

"Huh?"

"You know, with Robert Downey Jr.?"

She could tell by his reaction he didn't know what she was talking about.

"Never mind, just joking" she said, hoping he would leave it at that.

"Oh, okay…"

Summer coughed.

"Seth, I'm hungry, let's get something to eat" she said. Seth didn't bother to turn his head from the TV.

"That's okay, I want to see this-"

Summer grabbed Seth and forced him out of the room. Ace stared at this in confusion. Ryan turned to her.

"It's okay, that's how they show each other affection" he explained.

Downstairs, Seth turned to Summer.

"Okay, so what was more important than Spider-Man fighting the Green Goblin?"

"Cohen! Didn't you see what I was seeing?"

"No. As I've already said, I was watching the movie."

"Well, I was looking at Miss Harry Potter there putting Ryan under some sort of spell!"

Now that she mentioned it, Seth did realize Ryan and Ace were getting kind of chummy.

"Okay. So…what's the problem?"

Summer pushed Seth.

"Ow! Jeez, what!"

"The problem, Cohen, is that if he hooks up with Kate Winslet, he can't get back together with Marissa!"

Seth's expression remained blank.

"So?"

He quickly realized he made the wrong answer when Summer raised her arms again.

"Wait, wait, let me explain!" he quickly said while bracing himself.

"Fine, explain!" ordered Summer.

"Well, it's just, why do we need to get Ryan and Marissa together?" he asked.

"Because Marissa's our friend, and she's been miserable without him!"

"Okay, first, she's _your_ friend. To me, she's still the girl who lived next door for me for years and never bothered to pay attention to me until my dad brought home a hunk from Chino."

Summer was visibly disturbed by that last comment.

"What?" Seth demanded. "Guys can say another guy is a hunk! It's simple observation!"

"If you say so…." Summer replied, not entirely convinced.

"Secondly, I am not only Ryan's best friend, but his adopted brother, so my loyalty is to him. And honestly, I don't know if getting back with Marissa would be best for him"

Summer instantly glared.

"Hear me out! I'm just saying, you know, Ryan already has a lot to deal with, maybe he deserves a girlfriend who doesn't drink, who doesn't have a mother that hates him, who he doesn't have to save every couple of weeks…"

"Fine, fine" Summer said as she held up her hands. "Point taken. But I'm still working for Team Marissa"

"Why are you worried anyway? You heard her, she travels, she'll be gone before we know it"

"So? On _the Valley_, this French women was just visiting, but she fell in love with Jason, and she decided to stay!"

"So? I watched an alien movie the other day, doesn't mean that's going to happen!"


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Ryan!"

Marissa sighed. Ryan must be in the main house. She had heard explosions and such in there, so she guessed him and Seth were watching a movie.

Now she thought about it, it was probably better that he was with them. It would be less awkward then if she and Ryan were alone. Still, she had to talk with Ryan, about where their relationship was, and where it was going. She would lying if she said she wasn't worried about his answer. Oliver was gone, but he had proved to cast a long shadow.

As she walked in, she could see Seth and Summer arguing. Not an uncommon sight, or noise, Marissa mused. Despite that, however, she knew it was a relationship that was working. She noted the changes since they started in them since they started going out. Summer had become more caring, less superficial; Seth had become more confident, and was now willing to stand up for himself against the jocks and beauty queens that had previously made his life a living hell. She then frowned, remembering that until the beginning of the year, she was part of the that group. Sure, she had never activtley mocked him like Holly, but she never tried to talk to him or convince her friends to leave him alone. She then added Seth to her mental list of people she had to work on improving her relationship with, alongside Ryan, Luke, Kaitlin, her mother… Well, she would work on Ryan for now, she thought as she slid the glass door open.

"-where aliens invaded, doesn't mean that's going to happen!" she heard Seth exclaim.

"Summer? Seth?"

Both looked at her, obviously not pleased by her appearance.

"Marissa, we were just-" Summer gave Seth a light jab to stop him talking.

"Marissa, oh my God, you won't believe what happened!" she began, talking fast. Summer quickly grabbed Marissa's hand and brought her to the table.

"Cohen and I were going to make out at this place, but there was this weird guy and he was short and he had this hillbilly hat and question marks on his shirt and his umbrella, and he didn't tell us his name and answered every question with a question, although he did say I was smart so I guess he's not that bad, but then he blew up all these glass and we could been killed-"

Marissa held up her hand.

"Summer, I can barley understand you!"

Summer breathed.

"I'm sorry. Come on, let's go to talk about it at your house" Summer got up and grabbed Marissa's hand.

"Summer-"

"Okay, let's go to my house!"

Marissa brushed off Summer's hand.

"Summer, I love to, but I came here to talk to Ryan."

Summer's face went pale.

"Uh, Ryan, now's not the best time. You see-"

"Ryan has a case of explosive diarrhea" Seth offered. Both Marissa and Summer started at him, not believing what he said.

"Yeah, he's been in the can all day, and you know Ryan, he doesn't want anyone to see him in a moment of weakness. Couldn't talk with him anyway, all he's been doing is moaning. Poor guy, must be in Hell. I'll tell him you came by. Oh, don't tell him I told you this, he'd kill me"

The girls still stared at him.

"Okay, I'm going to go find Ryan" Marissa announced, walking past Seth. She began to remember why Seth was ostracized in the first place.

- -

"You burned down a mansion?"

Ryan chuckled.

"Well, people really exaggerate that. Really, it was Luke's fault"

"Well, I can top that. I burned down an old Victorian mansion. And it wasn't an accident."

Ryan was stunned.

"Well, you're right, I can't beat that"

The two laughed. Ryan was enjoying his time with Ace. Not that he didn't like hanging out and Seth and the others, but it was nice talking to someone who grew up in a similar place to him. Someone who didn't grow up not having to worry about whether they would have food when they came home; whose school supplies were out-of-date donations from wealthier schools; who hoped their parents would ignore them. Even though she came from another country, he was relating to her more than anyone from Newport.

"Ryan?"

Ryan turned to see Marissa, who was staring at Ace. An uncomfortable Seth and Summer were behind her. Ryan stood up.

"Marissa. Um, this is Ace."

"She's from England" added Seth.

"Oh" stated Marissa.

Ace smiled and walked over to her.

"Hey. Ryan's told me a lot about you."

- -

"You're a very bright young man, Oliver" said Dr. Banks.

Oliver shifted down his head.

"No, I'm not. I'm stupid. I can't understand what people want, I'm too dumb" he muttered.

"Oliver, I've seen your test results, you're near the top of your class. You could have a very successful life ahead of you."

"Yeah, people are going want some guy who kidnaps any girl that shows him the slightest bit of affection."

Banks shifted his legs.

"Oliver, you're problem is emotions. Your emotions told you that Marissa loved you, and that once you got Ryan out of the way, she would be yours."

Oliver grunted in response.

"Oliver, I represent gentlemen who have a new treatment. You see, emotions hold you back, prevent you from realizing your own potential. We can free you from them."

Oliver sighed. His parents had bascally looked for any possible treatment to help their son. Why was he stalling? He had to get out. If he could just find Marissa, talk to her…

He turned to Dr. Banks.

"Fine. I'll try it."

- -

Marissa kicked a can she found on the beach.

When she saw Ryan with Ace, she vowed she wouldn't bother them. She would try talking to Ryan, and just be his friend. If he eventually chose to get back with her, that would be great. If he didn't, well, she would be happy for him, like a friend should be.

After five minutes of seeing Ryan and Ace together, she decided to forget her vow and go to the beach.

God, how selfish was she? She couldn't be happy if Ryan was with anyone but her? Hell, they had just met and already she was acting as if they were a couple. From what Summer told her, she was just visiting.

She saw some classmates chugging a bottle. It looked very tempting…

No, she wouldn't. She wasn't weak, she wouldn't crawl back to the bottle when something went wrong.

The sound of machinery got her attention. She turned to see the blue box she and Summer saw this morning being hauled into the back of a truck. She guessed it belonged to them.

She read the name on the truck: 'International Electromatics.' Weird name, she thought. Still, she had more important things to worry about. Maybe a drive around time town would help her.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Despite what many would think, Caleb Nichol was used to not being in control.

He hadn't been born with a silver spoon. He started at the bottom, lying about his age to get a construction job. He had to pay his way through college himself, his drunk folks certainly weren't going to help. He had to put with a lot of bullshit, from trust-fund kids who's futures were assured, to bosses who looked at him like he was a piece of shit. But he persevered. He went from laborer to management. He started his own company, a company that has built over half of Newport. And just to rub it in the trust-fund kids' faces, he won the heart of one of them, the most intelligent, kindest, and beautiful woman he ever met.

Nowadays, Caleb Nichol was always in control. He was the richest man in Newport, and was essentially its uncrowned king. When someone talked to him, they spoke in respect, or awe, or fear.

Hence, he was becoming rapidly annoyed with his newest clients. Several months ago, he was contacted by the representatives of International Electromatics. They were a company who had been huge in the '60s, but shut down in 1970, when it was revealed they were selling secrets to the Soviets. The company collapsed, their CEO committed suicide, and the once-trusted name was disgraced. However, a certain party was reviving the name, and they wanted to establish a base in Orange County. They wanted a central building, as well as several storage areas around the county.

Of course, the Newport Group was happy to accept the job. But he grew annoyed with them. The bosses refused to meet with him. Instead, he had to deal with pesky middlemen like Stoney. Middlemen who had the gall to make him and his daughter wait, who acted as if the Newport Group should feel honored to work with them. It was as if they were daring him to tear up the contract.

Now he realized they may have been.

Unknown to almost everyone, even his daughter, the Newport Group was in trouble. There was no one reason. He had made some bad investments, business was slower than usual, the new DA kept looking into him… The fact was, the Newport Group needed cash, and soon. And like an angel of mercy, International Electromatics appeared just in time.

Earlier that day, he found out they knew it as well. They had forced Caleb to use some of his contacts, men he used for unseemly matters, to track down a man (or men, he was still confused on that matter) and capture him. For what, he didn't know. To tell the truth, he didn't want to know. All he needed to know was that once again, Caleb Nichol was not in control. It was familiar, and he didn't like it.

So, he decided to investigate International Electromatics himself. He had numerous government contacts, people who owed him favors. Already, he was finding the info interesting. Apparently, there was quite more to the 1970 incident than the official story recorded. Amongst other things, they weren't working with the Russians. Who they really worked for, he didn't know yet. Still, if there was one thing Caleb Nichol was good at, it was waiting.

- -

Kevin looked again at the little man walking down the street.

"Yeah, that's him all right."

He motioned for his two fellow thugs to follow him. The sun was setting, and he didn't see any witnesses. They approached him.

The Doctor raised his hat.

"Hello, what can I do for you?"

His answer was a swift punch in the jaw. The two other thugs gave him a few kicks, before lifting him up.

"Hey, let him go!"

The thugs turned to see a teenage girl, clutching onto a baseball bat, trying to appear intimidating.

Kevin smirked.

"Listen little girl, just walk away. Buy yourself some dresses, and forget you saw this."

Marissa tried to hide her fear. She had driven out here to be alone, when she heard a commotion. She saw a short man being assaulted by three thugs. She guessed hanging out with Ryan had rubbed off on her. That must have been why instead of calling the police, she grabbed a baseball bat her father always kept in the back, and tried being a hero.\

"Let him go!" she repeated, shaking.

The three just chuckled, as they carried the man away.

Marissa took a deep breath, ran up to them, and swung at the closest one.

The man fell to the ground, out like a light. Marissa could barley believe it.

Before she could fully process it, the other thug grabbed the bat, and forced it from her hands. Before he could hit her, however, a red handle went around his neck and pulled him down. Marissa then saw the man she saved come up to her.

"When I say 'run'…."

- -

"No, I've changed my mind! Please, I don't want to do this!"

The silver giants ignored Oliver Trask's pleas, and strapped him onto the machine.

"Please, my parents are rich, they'll pay you anything you want!" he screamed as he vanished into the machine.

Oliver couldn't remember ever being as scared as he was now. He looked up, seeing strange devices. One came down and started to spray a weird liquid onto him. It felt hot, scalding. He then looked at his clothes. The liquid, it was melting them. Not just them, he realized. On his head, his hair… He felt it falling off. He could feel the same thing happening to his eyebrows, to every hair on his body…

He then looked up, and saw the saws….

He screamed as they open him up. His chest, legs, arms… He screamed as loud as he ever had. Robotic hands then came down, and started to put…parts in him. Tubes then came in, and attached themselves to his body. Half of them started to drain his blood, while the other half started to pump in a transparent white liquid.

Then, a huge metallic mask came down, along with two drills. They struck through his head, and into his brain.

What happened next could not be described. His mind was suddenly bombarded with information, data on things he never imagined.

_The Cyber-Race originated on the planet Mondas-_

_-The major weak point of the Dalek casting is its eyepiece-_

_-"Love, pride, hate, fear. Have you no emotions then"-_

Each part of his body was scanned. Parts judged to be of poor quality were removed and replaced.

_-"You know our ways, then you must be destroyed"-_

_-The Earth colony of Arayda was converted in 2703-_

_-a Time Lord from Gallifrey, in the constellation of __Kasterborous-_

His muscles were altered, their endurance increased beyond human limits.

_-"__no influence, nothing! You're just a pathetic bunch of tin soldiers skulking about the galaxy"-_

_-these 'Cybus' Cybermen originate from a parallel universe-_

_-"The way you put your hands on your hips. I know its meant to make you look fierce, but it does nothing for you, believe me.'-_

Oliver struggled to regain his sense of self. He tried to pull up his own memories: Natalie taking him to the zoo when he was five (he got in trouble because he scared away a baboon); that dance where he met Amy (her date had stood her up, she was crying); when Amy first told him she loved him; her rejection of him; the pain it caused him, how it could only be relieved by cutting his own flesh; the first time he saw Marissa, so much like Amy, let down by someone who didn't deserve her…

But then he found something had changed. Why did he care about those things? He remembered feeling pain, or happiness; but he couldn't remember why. These memories, they didn't seem to make him feel anything. He should be disturbed by that, he realized; but he wasn't. It seemed right.

The drills then removed themselves, and he found himself standing. He was much taller than before. His body was covered with a metallic clothing, flexible yet strong. A metallic mask and body-plate was lowered onto him, and were drilled onto him.

A door opened, and he walked out. No one greeted him; why should they? He knew who he was, what his mission was now. 'Oliver Trask' was a meaningless label; he was Cyber-Unit #8532099055795719534X4321. His mission? To ensure the survival of the Cyber-race.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"I once knew someone named Marissa. Wonderful woman. Helped draft the Human-Silurian Peace Accord."

Marissa turned to stare at the strange man she had just saved, a man who only gave his name as 'the Doctor.'

"Really? I never heard of that"

"Naturally, it won't happen for another 200 years" he muttered under his breath.

Marissa turned her attention to the darkened road, seemingly empty. At least this had taken her mind off Ryan. Until right now, she realized.

"Something troubling you?" the Doctor asked.

"Oh, it's nothing. Just teenage stuff."

"Ah, that. Believe it or not, I do have some experience dealing with that. I remember one night Susan came home in tears. Apperarently some boy she was infatuated with was found in the closet with another girl."

"That sucks" commented Marissa.

"Indeed. Yes, a broken heart hurts, even if you have a spare."

Marissa would have asked about that last part, when she noticed something coming up on the road.

"The hell?"

"What is it?"

"There's some guy standing in the middle of the road."

The Doctor started down the road, seeing a tall figure, in silver garb, and wielding a blaster.

"Oh dear…."

- -

"So you punched him right there?"

"Well, what could I do?" replied Ryan, giggling along with Ace.

"So, all parties here end with a fight?"

"I guess"

The door bell rang, and Ryan got up.

"I'll get that"

"Sure"

Ace turned to the screen. _Blade _was still playing, even though Seth and Summer were up in his room, and she and Ryan weren't paying attention. Now that she was, she grabbed the remote and tried to turn it off. After what she just dealt with back in the '40s, she didn't want to deal with vampires for a long time.

She then realized she hadn't thought about that for awhile. For the past several hours, she didn't have to think about her mother, or Fenric… They just talked about their lives, laughing at memories. Of course she had to hold back recent events, even though she was sure Ryan would be fascinated by a robot made of candy…

No, forget it, Ace, she told herself. It wouldn't work. She would be here for another day or so, while the Doctor was setting up some complicated trap (one he wouldn't tell her about) deafet some alien menace and then they would off to the planet Zog or whatever. Besides, look what happened to the last two guys she fell for: one turned out be both a racist and a traitor, and was killed by a little girl; the other was possessed by an evil from the dawn of time (plus they turned out to be related); give it awhile, she would find out some terrible secret about Ryan and then he would die.

"Julie" she heard Ryan exclaim, trying to hide his disappointment. She walked up to see an attractive, red-haired woman standing outside.

"Ryan, hello! Is Kirsten here?" she asked, eagerly.

"Umm, she and Sandy went out, they should back soon" he answered, hoping she would then leave. Instead, she walked in.

"Oh, I'll wait for them. Marissa's still out, and Kaitlin is having a sleepover at a friend's, and it can be so boring being alone in such a huge house" she explained walking in. Truth be told, she was hoping her daughters would be away tonight, but despite her pleas, Luke wanted to spend time with his father.

Ryan was horrified when she saw Julie eye Ace. They had a good day together, but it appeared it would end with Julie Cooper giving her a verbal lashing.

"Oh, hello, I don't think we've met, I'm Julie Cooper, I live next door" she announced politely.

"Oh, hello I'm Ace."

"Oh, you're from England. I went there once, years ago. God, it was beautiful."

To Ryan's amazement, the two women started to talk. And it seemed like they were both enjoying themselves.

He then recalled what Julie said about Marissa. If she wasn't at home, and wasn't with Summer… He hoped she wasn't drinking. Even though Seth had urged him to forget about her, he couldn't do that even if he wanted to too. How could ignore someone in trouble? His pre-Newport life was hell because people ignored the bruises on his body, the black eyes and such. Besides, he wasn't sure he didn't want to be with Marissa, he just needed time to think about it.

Wherever Marissa was, he just hoped she was safe.

- -

Marissa screamed as the top of the car was blasted out.

All of a sudden, she was in the passenger seat. She turned to see the Doctor now driving.

"Who is that?" she asked.

"A Cyberman' he replied grimly.

The car shook as another blast hit, this time the back. They felt it tilt to the bottom, the back wheels fallen off. The Doctor swerved, and brought the car to the stop. He then opened the door, and got out.

"Doctor!" the Cyberman spat out as if an insult.

"Cyberman! Good, we all know each other. Oh, except for this young woman whose car you've just wrecked."

He turned to Marissa, who could barely understand what was happening.

"Marissa, this is a Cyberman. He's a member of your emotionless, cyborg sister race from Earth's long lost twin planet."

"Doctor! You and the human female will accompany me back to base. You will be converted. You will be like us!"

"Like you? What does he mean?" asked Marissa.

"He wants to cut us up, stick mechanical parts in us, and strip us of our emotions. To make us Cybermen"

Marissa didn't understand how the Doctor was staying so calm. He approached the metallic being.

"And if we refuse?"

"The Cybermen know of your weaknesses, Doctor. You care for the lives of these humans."

To Marissa's horror, it aimed the blaster right at her.

"Do as I say, or I will kill her!"

The Doctor smiled, and reached into his pockets.

"First, as I tell you every time, compassion for others is not a weakness. And secondly-"

His hand came out of his pocket, and he flung a handful of golden dust into the Cyberman's chest. Immediately, the Cyberman started to convulse, as if struggling to breath.

"-I know your weaknesses" he concluded, smugly.

- -

The seemingly never-ending chat between Ace and Julie ended with a phone ring.

"Oh, excuse me, dear, I have to get this" she announced, and pulled it out. Ryan noted how Ace stared at it, seemingly amazed.

"Hello? Marissa, how are you?"

There was a pause, and Julie was shocked by what she heard.

"You destroyed the car!?"

Ryan sighed, and walked away. Marissa, a wrecked car, it didn't take a genius to figure out what happened there. Ace followed him, after saying goodbye to Julie.

"Hey, you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, I guess. I was just- well, I'm just disappointed, I guess."

Ace put her hand on his shoulder.

- -

Ace was walking towards the TARDIS when she saw the Doctor.

"Professor!" she yelled, running up to him.

"Ace!" he replied, patting her back.

"How was your day? Enjoy yourself?"

Ace smiled. "Yeah, actually, I did."

The Doctor then frowned.

"Professor? What is it?" she asked, looking ahead. She then realized it wasn't someone he saw that disturbed the Doctor, but what he didn't.

The TARDIS was missing.

"Oh, dear. This could be a problem" he muttered.

"Professor, what happened to the TARDIS?"

"I'm guessing in the hands of our foes. Don't worry, though, they won't be able to go anywhere with it, she'll only listen to me" he assured.

Ace thought for a moment.

"Professor, I met someone today. I think I could stay at their house tonight. You can, too, probably."

The Doctor shook his head.

"Sleep is for tortoises. You can go along ahead. Tell me, though, who is this 'someone'?" he asked. Ace was much happier than when he last saw her this morning, and he wondered who he could thank.

"His name's Ryan, Ryan Atwood."

"Ryan Atwood?" The Doctor searched his thoughts for a moment. Where did he know that name?

"Oh, of course, the architect. That's right; he was taken in during his youth by a Newport family…the Cohens!"

Ace was confused.

"Why are you so happy about that, Professor?"

"Kirsten Cohen, her father runs the Newport Group, the company that's working with the Cybermen. This is excellent, now we have an in"

He then noticed Ace's frown.

"You planned this, didn't you?" she accused.

"What?"

"Come on, Professor! I just happen to make friends with a member of the family you need to investigate!?"

"I admit, it's quite a coincidence. Had I read it in a story, I'd dismiss the author as a hack-"

"This is one of your plots, isn't it!? All this time I've been with you, you've used me like some kind of pawn!"

"Ace, I have never-"

"Oh, just admit it, Doctor! That's the reason you took me in the first place, because of Fenric!"

The Doctor was getting annoyed. He thought they had settled this.

"I admit, Fenric was a factor, but I recognized your potential, that's what I asked you to join me!"

"Really? You saw potential in me, an 'emotional cripple'!"

So, that was what this was about.

"Ace, I told you! Your faith in me was holding the Haemovore back, I had to break it!"

"Did you? You couldn't have just asked me to step to the left a bit?"

"Fenric would have suspected something!"

"Or maybe you just saw an opportunity to say what you really feel!"

"I'm sorry if I didn't take your feelings into account while trying to save your world!" yelled the Doctor.

The two just stared at each other for a moment, before Ace turned around.

"Goodbye, Doctor!" she spat out.

The Doctor sighed, and walked away.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

_Sorin – no, not Sorin, not anymore, Sorin was dead, he was Fenric now – lowered the black piece onto the chess set. _

"_Black wins…Time Lord" he muttered, giggling._

_A flash of lightning burst into the room, and set it aflame. No, this is was impossible. God, she was an idiot. She had blathered out the winning move, and doomed the world._

"_What's happened?" she demanded, moving away from him._

"_The Wolves of Fenric…descendants of the Viking who first buried the flask…all pawns in my game."_

_The Doctor stood silent. _

"_Dr. Judson, Commander Millington, the Ancient One, Captain Sorin…and now you"_

"_Me…?"_

_She smelt something, like rotted fish. As she backed away, she felt someone behind her. To her horror, it was a Haemovore, some Creature from the black lagoon reject, that the Doctor said was what humanity would evolve into millions of years from now. The Haemovore just stared at her. What was it waiting for? _

_She focused her attentions back on Fenric. He was lying. She wasn't his pawn. _

"_You can't! How?"_

_He was lying, he had to be. He still had a smile on his face. She couldn't wait for the Doctor to wipe it off. _

"_The baby"_

_The baby? Audrey? Had Fenric done something to her? No, she was safe, she and her mother. Ace had seen to that, they were on their way to Streatham now. What did he mean, how was the baby connected to her… Audrey, her mother's name…_

"_In 30 years the baby will be grown. She will have a daughter. That daughter…will be you."_

_No. It couldn't be. The baby was innocent; it couldn't grow up to be her wretched mother._

"_You've just created your own future."_

_Fenric reached down and grabbed the photo Kathleen had given her, and held it up to her._

"_The baby…is your mother." _

_No. Kathleen and her baby were safe now, they would lead happy lives. Audrey wasn't going to grow up to become some junkie whore, she wasn't!_

"_The mother…you hate."_

_She said she would always love her, how could it be her mother!?_

_She looked at Fenric, his face grinning, savoring her pain. _

"_Kill them…slowly" he ordered the Haemovore. _

_This was it, she failed. No, she realized. The Doctor was here. He was staring at them, she could see his mind plotting. He would defeat Fenric, just like all the others._

"_You don't stand a chance," she told Fenric. She turned to the Doctor._

"_Tell him, Doctor. He's got it wrong."_

"_The Time Lord has failed," said Fenric, smugly. "The Wolves of Fenric have released me."_

_She turned to Fenric. He didn't know who he was dealing with._

"_The Doctor never fails. I've got faith in him. Complete faith."_

"_Kill them" he ordered the Haemovore._

_Ace turned to face it. She had to have faith. If she didn't, it would kill her. And right now, that was only one thing she had complete faith in. The Doctor would win. No matter how powerful his opponent, he would defeat them._

_The Haemovore stopped its approached. It put its hands to its head, as if in pain. It was working. Her faith in the Doctor was too strong for it to break._

_She heard the Doctor mutter something. When she looked at him, he seemed…concerned, more worried than just a moment ago. _

_Fenric, on the other hand, was still being an arrogant ass._

"_Time for the one final game, then."_

_He reached for the table, not flinching as he hand almost touched the still-flaming board. He picked up a small capsule of a green substance. Ace recognized it as the toxic poison Millington had been producing, ready to poison any foreign nation which threatened Britain. The Doctor had told her what even a small capsule could do. If Fenric dropped it, she would die._

"_The choice is yours, Time Lord. I will kill you anyway...but if you would like the girl to live…kneel before me."_

_She knew the Doctor wouldn't kneel. And she knew she wouldn't die. The Doctor mocked megalomaniacal aliens whose weapons could crack the Earth open like an egg; he challenged gods who saw all other life as play-things; he convinced a being that moved as fast as light to stand still for all eternity as stone._

"_I believe in you, Professor."_

_He was Time's Champion, the Oncoming Storm, the Ka Faraq Gatri. He was what the monsters had nightmares about._

"_Kneel, if you want the girl to live!"_

_And then the Doctor spoke._

"_Kill her."_

_What did he say? No, it was some trick, the Doctor didn't mean it._

_Fenric erupted with laughter._

"_The Time Lord finally understands."_

_Understand what? What did he mean? _

"_You think I didn't know? The chess set in Lady Peinforte's study? I knew."_

_What? She then remembered, they had gone to Jacobean England to investigate Lady Peinforte, a noblewoman who used magic to travel to 1988. There was a chess board there, on which the Doctor made moves. Had he been playing against Fenric?_

"_Earlier than that, Time Lord. Before Cybermen, ever since Iceworld, where you first met the girl."_

_Iceworld? The strange place she inadvertently stranded herself in until the Doctor rescued her, chose her to become his companion as he journeyed through time and space? How was Fenric involved there? Was Kane one of his servants? _

"_I knew. I knew she carried the evil inside her."_

_What was the Doctor saying? He knew all about this? Had he been lying to her all this time?_

"_You think I would have chosen a social misfit if I hadn't known?"_

_Social misfit? Is that what the Doctor really thought of her? No, he said he recognized her potential! He saw what her mother couldn't! _

"_She couldn't pass her chemistry exams at school, and yet she manages to create a time storm in her bedroom! I saw your hand in it from the very beginning."_

_The time storm? That was Fenric's doing? So all this time, she had just been a pawn in this game between the Doctor and Fenric?_

"_No…" she moaned._

"_She's an emotional cripple. I wouldn't waste my time on her, unless I had to use her somehow."_

_So her mother had been right all along. She was a failure, an idiot. The only reason the Doctor chose her was so that he could use her to defeat Fenric, and she even messed that up._

"_NO!!"_

_Ace collapsed. This was it. Fenric won, Earth was doomed. Earth would be covered in poison, life would die, humanity would only survive by evolving to the Haemovores. She had let everybody down._

_And Fenric saw her pain, and laughed._

"_Kill them."_

"ACE!"

Ace opened her eyes. She remembered, she was in the Cohen's guestroom. She had come back to the house last night, after her fight with the Doctor. Teary-eyed, she explained to the Cohens that she needed a place to stay for the night. She would have been willing to use the couch, but they insisted on the expensive and old bed in the guest room. She felt guilty for imposing, but then remembered they would have been dead several times over if it wasn't for her, so really it all evened out.

She looked to see Ryan looking over her, concerned.

"Sorry, but it looked like you were having a nightmare. You kept talking about 'wolves' and your mother and, uh, something called 'Haemovores' or whatever" he explained.

"Oh, thank you. I didn't wake you or-"

"No, no, it's fine."

She looked at the window, the sun was just rising.

"Uh, what's that in your hand?" Ryan asked.

She hadn't realized she was holding something. She opened her hand, and saw a small hammer and sickle. The emblem Sorin had given her. The last time she saw him, before…

"Oh, it's just something someone gave me…."

"Oh" Ryan realized. "Someone…special?" he guessed.

"Yeah...well, it could have been special. But it's over, he's…gone."

She wondered about Sorin's grave. It would have to contain an empty casket, but she hoped it was decorated with and roses and all. He deserved it more than Mike did.

Ryan saw that it was a sore spot and didn't press further. "So…you want to get breakfast or something? You should do it now, because Kirsten's going to try cooking this morning, and we'll be lucky if we even have a kitchen after that"

Ace smiled. "Sure"

- -

Stoney moaned as he walked into Caleb's office. He had a hangover; he should still be in bed.

"Mister Stoney, glad you could make it" offered Caleb.

Stoney glared at him. "Yes, Mister Nichol, I'm here. Now what is so important it couldn't wait a few more hours?"

Caleb smiled, looking like the cat that ate the canary. "Mister Stoney, when I enter into a partnership, I like to know all about whom I'm getting involved with. But I couldn't find out a lot about you guys. So, I hired some investigators, called in some contacts, and waited to see with turned up."

Stoney's face went pale. "And what did you find out?" he asked, trying to remain calm.

"Oh, a lot. Stuff that I think the government would be very interested in."

Crap.

"I want to meet your bosses, Mr. Stoney. Discuss it with them"

Stoney was about to object, but then stopped. He acted as if he were listening to something, but Caleb didn't see phone or such on him.

"Very well. Come with me, Mr. Nichol. Prepare to meet the brains behind International Electromatics.

- -

Ace analyzed the figure on the Wheaties box as she ate. It was something she done since she started traveling in time; whenever she was in the future, she tried to know what was going on in sports. That way, if she went back to her present, she could bet appropriately.

She then realized she didn't know if she would be going home. She didn't know if she would still be traveling with the Doctor, after what happened. Would he wait for her? Had he already gone? Maybe this whole thing was just another scheme to get rid of her. The Doctor defeated Fenric. Her use was over, now he could just leave and find a real companion.

"_I wouldn't waste my time on her, unless I had to use her"_

He had told her what he had said wasn't true. She wanted to believe him, and his explanation made sense. Unknown to both Fenric and her, the Doctor had talked to the Haemovore (the 'Ancient One,' the Doctor called it.) He had convinced it to betray Fenric, to prevent the dying world where it originated from ever coming into being. Ace's faith in the Doctor, however, was keeping the Ancient One from striking. The Doctor, as such, was forced to destroy her faith. It worked. The Ancient One sacrificed itself, poisoning both itself and Fenric, ending his evil forever. And all it took was Ace's confidence in herself. The Doctor had apologized, and assured her it wasn't true. But try as she might, she couldn't forget the awful things he had said.

"You okay?"

Ace turned to Ryan, who was cooking pancakes. "Yeah, I'm alright." Maybe she could talk to Ryan. They both had similar stories: teens from a broken home who nobody believed in, rescued by strangers (although Ace's story was more interesting, of course, since it involved aliens and a dragon and a guy's face melted.)

"Ryan?"

"Hmmm?"

"Have you ever wondered….about why Sandy took you in?"

"Every single day" he answered without hesitation.

"And…what do you tell yourself in the end?"

Ryan paused to think. "Well…depends on how I'm feeling, I guess. But usually, I tell myself that what he said was the truth. He saw that I was a good kid, had potential, and he didn't want me to waste it."

Ace nodded. "Have you ever thought…it was for some other reason?"

"Like what?"

_I don't know, like maybe Sandy realized you were the descendant of a cursed Viking with genetic instructions to free an ancient evil he had trapped long ago?_

"I mean, do you ever wonder if he's…lying to you, that there's another reason that he's not telling you?"

Ryan sighed. "At first, I thought he was doing more for himself than me. You know, 'I let the poor Chino kid live in Newport, now I can go on buying shit without my conscience bugging me.' But since I've been here, I've gotten into a lot of shit where I don't think anyone would have blamed him and Kirsten for sending me packing. But they didn't. Even during the Oliver thing, where they thought I was just jealous, they stuck by me."

Ace smiled for him. At least he was happy.

"Ryan, you were supposed to wake me up!" a voice whined. Seth wondered into the kitchen, still in his robe.

"Sorry, I forgot" Ryan answered.

"Forgot!? What if I didn't wake up now? I might have woken up when mom was cooking. I could have been forced to eat her food, Ryan! Could you have lived with that, knowing it was your fault!?"Seth realized Ace was in the kitchen. "Oh. Hey"

"Hey."

"Ace spent the night here. There was a problem with where she was staying" explained Ryan.

"Oh, okay." Seth sat down in the chair. "So…I heard that someone tamed the dragon lady" he said.

"Who?" asked Ace.

"Julie Cooper" explained Ryan.

"Oh, Julie! Yeah, it was great talking with her. It must be nice having her as a neighbor."

Ryan and Seth looked at each other.

"Listen, Ace….were you listening to Ryan yesterday?" asked Seth. "Julie Cooper is like, his Lex Luthor. She won't rest until he's dead."

"I figured you guys were just joking. Trust me, I've met evil women, and Julie is not one of them. Besides, didn't you say she sided with you on Oliver."

"True…" Seth cut in. "Much as Superman and Luthor will team up to fight Darkseid, Ryan and Julie did once team up against a common foe. But trust me, everyone in Newport, even her daughter, knows she is the queen bitch. I mean, her ex-husband stole half the town's money, and yet he's still the likable one!"

- -

Marissa awoke to a newspaper being tossed in her face.

Moaning, she threw it off, only to see her mother, hands on hips, glaring at her. "What?" she asked, yawning.

"Unfortunately, today was a slow news day. Look!" she said, grabbing a piece of the paper and showing her an article, on a wrecked car that was driven by one Marissa Cooper.

Marissa moaned. Great, now everyone would know.

Julie sighed and sat down. "Honestly, Marissa, what are we going to do? Ever since-" She was about to mention Ryan, but cut herself just in time. She realized that Marissa wanted Ryan because it pissed Julie off so much. Insulting him was only going to encourage her. "-this summer, it's just been what thing after another!"

"This is the part you blame Ryan, right?"

Julie held up her hand. "At this point, I don't care whose fault it is, the point is I think we should seriously reconsider rehab."

Marissa shot out of bed. "Mom, I told you-"

"Well what do you expect me to do?! You're making me look like the worst mother in the world!"

"Oh, so this is about how you look?"

"Of course, not, it's just-" Julie sighed. "Don't you care about what you're doing to yourself? Don't you care whether you live or die!?"

Marissa was silent. She could sense the seriousness in her mother's voice. She was actually worried. "Mom, I wasn't drunk."

"Then what happened?"

"You wouldn't believe me."

"Try me."

Marissa sighed. "It was blown apart by a…by a robot."

Julie was silent for a few moments. "Well, I see Seth's sense of humor has rubbed off on you. Maybe now you could follow his lead of not getting in trouble."

With that, Julie got up and walked out of her room. "Oh, and you're not leaving the house today. I don't think I have to tell you why."

Marissa sighed and looked at the article. There was a photo of the wrecked car. She then noticed a truck in the background. She had seen it yesterday (or a similar one, at any rate). It said International Electromatics on it. Men were loading something up. She couldn't tell what, it was hidden by a blanket. What were they doing there? And then she noticed something sticking out from under the blanket, something so small she imagined she was the only one who caught it. It was a silver hand.

- -

Caleb Nichol grew nervous as he waited in the elevator. "How far down are we going?" he asked Stoney.

"Mister Nichol, you wanted to meet the bosses" he replied.

Caleb got his cell phone.

"Oh, I'm sorry, but we get bad reception here, it won't work" Stoney informed him.

Caleb glared at him. Then, the elevator stopped.

"We're here" announced Stoney.

The door opened. Standing outside were a dozen men covered in metal.

The Cyber-Leader walked up to Caleb, and looked down upon him.

"Welcome, Mister Nichol."


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"Okay, honey, I called the fire department, gave them a heads up" announced Sandy as he walked in.

Kirsten glared at him.

"You know, I'm really getting sick of these little jibes about my cooking."

Sandy looked around, noting the absence or Ryan, Seth, or Ryan's guest.

"Where're the kids?"

"Gone."

"Really? Seth got up early?"

"I know. It's as if _someone_ told him I was planning to cook"

Sandy put up his hands.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't just stand back and not give a warning to my first-born son."

"And now that girl thinks I'm a terrible cook."

"You are a terrible cook!"

"That's just yours and Seth's opinion, but you two just exaggerate and repeat to everyone that no one ever gives me a chance. When Ryan first came here, I was planning to cook a dinner to welcome him to the family, but no, Seth had gotten to him first!"

"Honey, it's not just our opinions. You know, the only advice your father ever gave me was 'Don't let her cook.' Jimmy told me about that time you tried to cook him dinner for his birthday and almost burned the house down!"

"Fine, fine!" yelled Kirsten, holding up her hands. She then turned her attention to her cook book.

"So, have you met Ace?" asked Sandy, deciding to change the topic.

"Ryan's new friend? Just a bit, but she seems nice"

"They talked a lot yesterday. They have a lot in common, similar background. I think they're might something…"

Sandy wiggled his hand.

"…there, you know?"

"Really? Oh."

"You don't seem too excited about that."

"Well, if it's what Ryan wants, I'll be happy for him, but I was hoping he and Marissa would get back together."

"Really?"

"What, I thought you liked Marissa?"

"I do, she's a nice girl, and I know she means well, but her and Ryan, their relationship was a little…chaotic, you know?"

"Well, they were happy together, until Oliver. I don't know, I guess it's the romantic in me. I mean, the rich girl from Newport, the boy from the wrong side of the tracks…"

She reached over and hugged him.

"Doesn't it remind of a couple you know?"

Sandy smiled.

"The kids are ground, so how about you forget cooking and we go upstairs…"

"God, Sandy, I wish I could, but I have a Newpsie meeting today."

Sandy frowned.

"Oh, great"

"We have to plan a party we're holding next month. It's for charity"

"Really? What for?"

Kirsten sighed.

"It's for apes. It's to help protect against poachers" Kirsten explained, her face pleading for Sandy's sympathy.

"You know, maybe you could help people here. Newport's homeless have been vanishing for weeks, and no one seems interested in finding out where to!"

Kirsten sighed.

"Sandy, the police are looking"

"Yeah, I'm sure they're really busting their asses. Come on, Kirsten, you're not naïve. Most of Newport is probably glad they're gone!"

- -

Marissa had just finished getting dressed when the phone rang.

"Hey Summer" she answered.

"_Coop, I read about what happened in the paper! Are you okay!?"_

"Yeah, although I'll be in my 40s by the time my mom decides to let me out."

There was a pause before Summer spoke again.

"_Were you drinking?"_

Marissa moaned.

"No, Summer, I was not. Why does everyone think that?"

"_Well, your car was wrecked, and you went out after you saw Ryan and Ace-"_

"Ace?"

"_You know, Ryan's…friend"_ she replied, emphasizing 'friend'.

"So? I see Ryan hanging out with another girl, so obviously I turned to booze for comfort?"

"_Well, it happened in Tijuana-"_

"Okay, that was not just seeing Luke and Holly, I'd just learned my parents were about to divorce, too!"

Both friends were silent for a moment, hoping to prevent this talk from becoming a fight.

"_So…what did happen?"_

"Sum, you wouldn't believe me, no one would."

"_Try me. Yesterday, a make-up session between me and Cohen was interrupted by some weird guy with like the worst taste in clothes. I mean, his shirt was covered with question marks!"_

That got Marissa's attention.

"Question marks?"

"_Yeah"_

"Was he short, with a hat, and Scottish?"

"_Oh God, Coop, you met him too? Oh God, did he wreck your car, because he blew up the place Cohen and I were in"_

"No, he didn't. He was…involved though."

"_God, Coop, tell me!"_

"Well, I was giving him a ride, because some guys had tried to beat him up. And on the road, we saw…uh…."

"_What? You saw what?"_

"…A robot."

Summer was silent.

"_A robot?"_

"He called it a 'Cyberman.'"

"_Uh-uh."_

"And it was in the middle of the street, and it had this gun, and it fired at us…"

"_How do you know it was a robot? Couldn't it been some guy in a suit?"_

"I guess, but that gun…it wasn't like anything I'd seen, it was like something out of _Star Wars_."

"_So, the robot and the guy were working together?"_

"No, actually it seemed like the opposite. They knew each other, and the robot wanted him to follow me. It threatened to kill me…"

"_Oh God, what happened?"_

"The Doctor…that's what he calls himself….he walked over and threw some kind of golden dust at him, and he started to cough and then he fell and…died, I guess."

"_So, you have proof! The robot was there when the police came, right?"_

"The Doctor…he told me to leave and get as far away as he could. He said that more would come, and that if they caught me…"

Marissa didn't want to think about what the Doctor told her, about what they would do to her.

"_So, just tell your mom what you told me?"_

"Yeah, she's going to believe me. I mean, Summer, you're my best friend, and if you hadn't met this…'Doctor' yesterday, would you have believed me?"

Summer's silence told the answer.

"_Well, you got to tell someone! I mean, if there's a bunch of robots or guys dressed as robots…I mean, we have to tell someone, or do something, right?"_

"Summer, no one's going to believe us. I don't know what we can do."

There was a pause.

"_Well, I'm going to go see Seth…unless you want me to come over?"_

"That's okay. I just want to be alone right now."

"_All right…but if you need to talk me, promise me, you'll call me?"_ she asked desperately.

Marissa smiled. No matter how weird things got, her friendship with Summer remained a constant.

"Sure."

She then hung up.

She looked at the picture in the newspaper again, and the silver hand. International Electromatics. Did they make the robot, or something? Maybe the Doctor worked with them or something. Maybe she should…

No, she was not going to go there. She wasn't going to go to a company that made killer robots. She was going to stay at the house…with her mother.

"Kaitlin, I'm going out for a bit."

- -

The Doctor found the jazz soothing. After what happened with Ace last night, he needed some time to relax and think.

Humans. Sometimes he wondered why he bothered with them. There were trillions of species in the universe, and yet whenever he wanted a companion, he almost inevitably chooses one of these thickheaded apes. He should build another K-9, it would save him all this trouble.

It's not as if Ace's reaction was unexpected; the entire purpose was to destroy her faith in him. It wasn't something he relished, far from it, but the fate of the universe, including Ace, depended on it. And he knew it would take some time for Ace to fully trust him again. Still, humans could be so frustrating.

He thought back to an incident when he was in his fourth incarnation, when he was traveling with Sarah Jane. It seemed like a million years ago, rather than merely hundreds. They had landed on Earth in the early 20th century, and stumbled upon a plot to release Sutekh, the last of the Osiran race.

Sutekh was a being of extreme power. If he was freed, the consequences…he could barely think about them. Humans, Daleks, Ice Warriors, Draconians, Sontarans, Cybermen…none of them would have stood a chance against the might of Sutekh; not even the Time Lords would have prevailed. The entire universe, along with its every inhabitant, would have been reduced to a play-thing, for Sutekh to do with as he pleased.

And yet try as he might, he couldn't seem to get Sarah Jane to realize how serious it was. He remembered when they came across the body of a professor who had been assisting them. Even though she had just met the man, she was horrified. When he told her they had to go, she yelled at him for being so callous. He then snapped at her, reminding her what was at stake. He hated to act so cruel, but all of existence was threatened, and she wanted him to comfort her, like a child…

That's what they were, children. Children who always needed to had their hands held; whose first reaction to seeing something different was to try to kill it; and who thought the universe revolved around them. And as much as he defended them and their compassion, at times it was hard to see. Look at the citizens of Newport, he thought. They spent the majority of their income on cars that poisoned their planet, on clothes made by children in sweatshops, on things they would probably only use once.

Perhaps he should have just stayed on Gallifrey….

No. Leaving his home planet was the best decision he made in his 975 years alive. His people were content to observe the universe from afar, just as information for them to process. His time traveling had opened his mind to how wonderful the universe really was. It was a feeling his people would never understand.

And that, he supposed, was why he kept coming back to this planet and its people. He needed them, to keep him from becoming alooft, from feeling above it now. It was something he especially needed now. He had become more ruthless, he realized that. Two incarnations ago, he had a gun pointed at the head of Davros. Davros, creator of the genocidal Daleks, one of the few beings the Doctor felt no discomfort describing as evil. And even as Davros taunted him, even though he knew how many lives it would save, he realized he couldn't do it.

He then thought back to his last encounter with Davros, when he tricked the Kaled genius into destroying Skaro, the capital of the Dalek Empire. As he said, he was becoming more ruthless. An entire solar system was now dead, because of him.

He needed Ace; he needed her to keep him from crossing the line, because he didn't know if he would recognize where that line was now. He knew how close he was to becoming just like the Master, or the Rani, or the Monk; once they were close friends of him; now they traveled the universe spreading pain and destruction, convinced it was all for the 'greater good.' He needed someone to be his companion; to make sure he never became what he has always fought against.

He tipped his waiter and left the club; he had work to do. The people of Newport may be insufferable, but they were still people; and they had no idea of the evil that was hiding amongst them, waiting for just the right moment to strike.

- -

Caleb could hardly take it all in.

Before he came here, he knew all he needed to know: Newport was his; a company was threatening him; he would take care of it.

Except now it turns out the bosses of this company aren't human. They're…robots. Cybermen, they call themselves. From what they told him, they were once…like him, like 'humans.' But they changed themselves, added parts to them; it made them better, they said.

Now, they wanted to do the same to them. To humans; all of them. The leader calmly explained their plans: Newport would be converted first, become a base from which they will conquer the rest of the world. The military would pose no threat, they assured him, they had planned for that.

Caleb threatened that he would tell others; they would stop them. The Cybermen replied that he would not be allowed to leave.

So Caleb did what he did best; he made a deal.

He would help them, give his advice for how to…conquer Newport. The people trusted him; he could perhaps convince them to willingly…be converted.

In exchange, three people in the town would be spared; himself, of course; Kirsten; and his grandson. They would angry with him, he knew; they would blame him for not saving Sandy, or the boy from Chino; hopefully, they would eventually understand that he had barely managed to get them amnesty. Initially, they said they would only spare him; fortunately, even under pressure, Caleb was an expert businessman.

He hoped Hailey wasn't here; please, God, let her be far away.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard Stoney yell. A Cybermen had grabbed him.

"What's going on!? You promised me-"

"We will be dealing with Mister Nichol directly from now on. As such, your services are no longer required."

Caleb heard the echoes of Stoney's screams long after he was gone.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Marissa walked up to the receptionist.

_Okay, just, you thought this out, just stay calm._

"Hi, I'm Marissa Cooper. I'm the head of the social chair at Harbor High."

The receptionist nodded cheerfully.

"And, well, we have a dance coming up, and I was wondering if maybe International Electromatics has any, umm, neat stuff we could use. It would be great publicity!" she beamed.

The receptionist smiled.

"Why, that sounds lovely. Just leave your number, I'm sure management will get back to you" she replied in an artificial sugary voice perfected by the citizens of Newport.

"Uh, the dance is coming up soon. Is there any chance I could meet with someone now…?"

The receptionist shook her head.

"I'm sorry, we're very busy at the moment, setting everything up."

"Oh. Well, thanks anyway."

Marissa sighed when she left the building. Nancy Drew she wasn't.

"Good initiative" she heard.

She turned to see the Doctor, standing near an opened door marked 'Employees only.'

"However, I find the direct approach works more."

- -

Once again, Luke Ward looked around the restaurant to make sure there was no one he knew.

"Jesus, Luke, relax" said Julie. "Trust me, no one we know goes here. Too cheap."

Luke nodded. He knew he should relax; Julie Cooper was the ultimate Newpsie, and she knew how this town worked. Still…

"I'm sorry. I'm just nervous-"

"Listen, Luke, I know, you probably think this is wrong, but you know what? That is just another example of the Double Standard."

"Huh?"

"Think about it. How many times do you see young women with some man who by all rights should have died years ago? And no one was bothered when I dated Caleb Nichol. But when a _woman_ wants some new meat, oh, how _dare_ she!?"

Luke nodded. He guessed that made sense.

"Well, it's less Newport I'm concerned about, and more Marissa. She's been through a lot, and I don't think she would take our…relationship well."

Julie rolled her eyes.

"Oh, so I have no say about who my daughter dates, but she gets veto power over me" she grumbled.

"You should lay off Ryan" said Luke. "He's a good guy."

"Oh, a lesson in being nice to Ryan from the guy who beat him up his first night in Newport."

"Yeah, and he still helped me when my dad was outed."

Julie mumbled something and looked around. She noticed two men walking in a robotic matter.

"Get a look of those two" she gestured.

Luke turned to see the two men, who were wearing earmuffs for some reason.

"What the hell is with those two? We just had a heat wave!"

The two men paid no attention to the gossiping couple. Their heads were filled were signals and instructions. The Doctor's companion, Ace McShane, had been sighted nearby. They were to capture her; the Doctor would be forced to give himself up.

She was in the company of three humans: a blonde male, a male brunette, and a female brunette. They were not to leave witnesses: they would be killed.

- -

Marissa kept looking around as she followed the Doctor.

"Don't worry, I have much experience going through corridors" the Doctor assured her.

Still, Marissa was nervous. She decided to ask the Doctor a question, to distract her.

"So these…Cybermen, what are they?"

The Doctor stood thoughtfully for a moment.

"There is a cosmic phenomenon, called Twin Planets. Don't feel bad about never hearing of it, your race hasn't discovered it yet. Essentially, it's when two planets, formed at the same time, develop in almost exactly the same way. Identical shape, identical landmass, even identical species.

"Earth is, well, was a twin planet."

Marissa was astonished.

"So, Earth had a twin?"

The Doctor nodded affirmatively.

"Yes, and just like Earth, it came to be ruled by a race of hairless apes with the fortune to develop a large brain and thumbs. They would name their planet Mondas.

"However, they developed much faster than their counterparts on Earth. While your race was still learning how to control fire, they were building pyramids and coliseums. While humans were just starting to form communities, the Mondasians were in the midst of an industrial revolution. At their height, their technological capability was roughly comparable with yours now."

"So…" began Marissa. "What happened to them?"

"Mondas suffered some sort of celestial cataclysm. As a result, it was dislodged from its orbit around the sun, and drifted into space, becoming a rogue planet."

"What?" Marissa interrupted. "I'm not a science nerd, but even I know that doesn't make any sense!"

The Doctor was annoyed at the interruption.

In order to survive, the Mondasians were forced to go underground."

The Doctor then paused.

"The Mondasians started to augment themselves with mechanical parts. It started innocently enough, synthetic limbs to replace lost ones, a mechanical heart when the original breaks down. Eventually, however, a scientist, Doctorman Allen, found a way to fully merge flesh and machine. The result was the Cybermen."

He motioned her to an elevator, and they entered it. As they went down, the Doctor continued.

"They had the strength of ten men. They could live for hundreds of years, and could survive the vacuum of space. And all they had to give up were their emotions."

"Why?" asked Marissa.

"Well, if you were to ask them, they would tell you that emotions are a weakness, something that clouds the mind. But that wasn't the reason, at least not at first."

"What was the reason?"

The Doctor looked at her.

"Think about it, if you were to become a Cyberman…your body would be changed completely. It would no longer feel like your body; it would be covered in metal. You would have a voice, you would no longer sound like yourself. In short, you would lose your identity, no one would recognize you as Marissa Cooper anymore, not even yourself. Think about it, you could look in a mirror and not instantly know where you were!

"The Cybermen rid themselves of emotion, Marissa, because otherwise they would go mad."

"But why do they want to take over Earth?"

"The Cybermen have a fear of going extinct. As such, they have conquered worlds and converted populations to fill their ranks. The Cyber Empire reached its height in the 26th century, when it was opposed by an intergalactic alliance, lead by the Earth Empire."

"Wait, you mean they-"

"Yes, these Cybermen are time travelers, as am I. They hope to conquer your planet now, and prevent it from becoming a threat to them in the future" the Doctor stated matter-of-factly. The elevator stopped.

"Ah, this is our floor."

Marissa gasped at what she saw. It was full of cryogenic chambers, hundreds of them. And in each one of them lay a Cyberman.

She then noticed the Doctor's distress.

"Oh, dear."

"What's wrong?" she asked, trembling.

"They're much further along on their plans than I thought. Come, we have to get out of here."

Then, they heard the tubes start to open.

"You are the Doctor. You will be brought to the Cyber-Leader!"

"Resistance is useless!"

"You will become like us!"


	12. Chapter 11

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Come on, people, really, 12 chapters and only 1 review? Come on, don't make one of those authors who demands reviews before writing.

Chapter 11

Seth walked over to Summer. They, along with Ryan and Ace, seemed to be the only ones at this part of the beach, near the rocky edge.

Summer noted a dour expression on her boyfriend (God, Seth Cohen was boyfriend, it still seemed impossible.)

"You okay, Cohen?"

"Yeah, great" he answered quickly.

"Cohen, you're a terrible liar."

Seth sighed, and looked to Ryan and Ace.

"Oh God, you're jealous" stated Summer.

Seth looked at her as if she was crazy.

"What? I mean, Ace seems nice, but-"

"No, you're jealous about Ryan!"

"Oh, a gay joke, Summer? I thought I was the immature one"

Summer shoved Seth.

"No, you're jealous because you don't have Ryan's undivided attention."

Seth scrunched his face.

"What? That's ridiculous, it's nothing like that. I wasn't jealous when he was with Marissa, remember?"

"Fine, then what?"

Seth stopped, and thought for a moment.

"It's just…well, you know my pre-Ryan life, right? You know, ignored, bullied, etc?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, uh, okay, this is going to sound stupid"

"Yes, most of what you say does."

"Well, uh, Ryan and me are pretty different. You know, he's blonde, I'm a brunette, he's strong, I'm weak, he attracts girls, I repel them-"

"Get to the point, Cohen" Summer interrupted.

"Well, I thought that one thing we did have in common was shitty childhoods. And, well, I guess I always knew, on some level, that his was a lot shittier than mine, but seeing him with Ace…" he trailed off.

"Yeah?" asked Summer, a sympathetic look on her face.

"Well, I guess it just brings that to the surface, you know? I mean, they're talking about whether their mothers loved them, somehow urine-stained shoes don't seem so horrible compared."

They sat down, leaning against one of the rocks.

"It's just that, I always felt that, unlike everyone else in Newport, I wasn't spoiled. And I always took pride in that. But then I compare my life to Ryan, and you know, I always got what I want. I mean, not, you know, friendship or Luke leaving me alone, but things that cost money, I always got them. And it just makes wonder, you know, if I'm any different than Luke or Holly or whatever."

Summer put her hands on his.

"Seth, first off, how we treated you at school before Ryan was horrible. You can feel bad about it without feeling, umm, bad about it. And trust me, you are much better than the assholes at school."

"Really?" asked Seth.

"Would I settle for anything less?" replied Summer, reaching over and kissing him.

After a short make-out session, Summer looked at her watch.

"What is it?" asked Seth.

"Oh, I was thinking maybe we should go visit Marissa. Did you know she saw the guy from yesterday, you know, 'the Doctor'?"

"Really? Well, she's at her home, so she should be safe."

- -

"You will be like us!"

"Resistance is useless!"

The Doctor and Marissa watched horrified as a seemingly endless number of Cybermen exited their chambers. The Doctor then tugged at Marissa's shoulder.

"We have to go!"

"Can't you use that gold stuff again?"

"I don't have enough of it! Come on!"

The two rushed back to the elevator, the Cybermen marching after them. Marissa breathed a sigh of relief when the door closed and the elevator went up.

- -

Caleb recognized the girl. It was Julie's daughter, Melissa or something, the one that told everyone about their relationship. He then recognized the short man from one of the pictures Stoney showed him yesterday.

He was relived when they got into the elevator. He didn't especially care for the girl (truth be told, he thought she was a bit of brat) and he was sure if he ever met the man he would hate him, but to go through whatever happened to Stoney…no one deserved that.

"The Doctor is escaping!" exclaimed one of the Cybermen. Although they claimed to be emotionless, Caleb detected frustration in the electronic voice.

"No, he will out" said another as he turned a switch.

- -

Marissa's relief vanished when she felt the elevator stop.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"I think our hosts don't want us leaving so early" muttered the Doctor. Marissa's worst fears were then confirmed when the elevator again moved…going back down.

The Doctor then grabbed the panel below the buttons and ripped it out, and began to fiddle with the wires.

"What're you doing?" asked Marissa.

"Trying to retake control from here" he explained.

- -

"Excellent" said the Cyber-Leader.

Caleb noted the Cybermen were all focused on the screen. He saw the button that they pushed, that was bringing the elevator down. If he could reach it…

But if he did, he would be killed. And Kirsten and Seth, they would be…

But if they did escape….the Cybermen were afraid of this man, said he stopped them before; if he got out, perhaps he could stop them and his family would be safe; but could he risk it?

_My God. I'm scared._

Caleb Nichol did not get scared. Even when he was young and poor, he refused to be intimidated by anyone. The last time he was frightened was when Rose got sick.

A Cyberman moved by the button. His decision was taken away from him now. In a way it pleased him. Now he didn't have to think about how desperate he'd become.

- -

Marissa watched helplessly as the numbers counted down.

"Marissa, do you have anything with gold?" asked the Doctor.

"What? Why?"

"Werewolves are vulnerable to silver, vampires to faith, Crespallions are sensitive to jokes about their height, and the Achilles heel of the Cybermen, well, these versions, in any case, is gold. Gold dust restricts their ability to breathe, and even contact with it causes them pain."

"How?"

The Doctor continued to work on the wires.

"I could give you a very long, very complicated answer which you probably wouldn't understand anyway, or you could look for something gold"

"Fine, fine."

Marissa reached around and took of her necklace. It was a present from her father for her 13th birthday, made of gold. She wanted to sell early last year when her family ran into money problems, but her father wouldn't hear of it.

"Good. Now, get ready…."

The door opened, and a Cyberman started to march towards them. Marissa swung her necklace and the pendant hit the cyborg. It caused a small explosion on the skin on contact, and the Cyberman cried out in pain.

"There we go."

The doors closed, and the elevator began to go up.

Marissa was breathing heavily. She was going to get out of this, alive. And that's when she felt a cold steel hand grab her leg.

- -

"And then Shreela and I-" Ace was telling Ryan about her old gang when she noticed Ryan wasn't paying attention.

"Ryan, hello?" she waved her hands around.

"Oh, sorry, so, you and Midge-"

"That was ten minutes ago, Ryan, what are you thinking about?"

Ryan sighed.

"Marissa."

"Still love her" said Ace. It was a statement, not a question.

"Well, I'm not sure, I mean-"

"Ryan, trust me, you're in love with her."

Ryan sighed again.

"Yeah, I still am."

"So, what's the problem, then?"

To tell the truth, Ace was enjoying this. It was nice to deal with problems that wouldn't result in the world being blown up or humanity enslaved.

"It's just…I told you about Oliver, right?"

Ace nodded her head; she had gotten the gist of it.

"It's, well, part of me says 'she didn't trust you, she doesn't deserve you, she just brings you trouble."

"And the other?"

"Tells me 'you love her, you want to be with her, and you're never as happy as when you're with her.'"

Ace nodded.

"I don't know. I just think what I could have done differently. The letter, maybe…"

"What letter?" asked Ace. He hadn't mentioned that.

"Oh. Well, Oliver had given her a letter and, and I went into her locker, and, um, read it."

Ace had a look of disbelief on her.

"You what?"

"I know, that was stupid."

"Yeah, that's one way of putting it. Moronic, insensitive, stalker-esque…"

"Yeah, I know"

"Of course she didn't trust you, neither would I!"

Fortunately for Ryan, Seth and Summer walked over.

"Hey. You know, this beach, what with all the rocks and sand, it's fascinating, but Summer and I were wondering, if we could somewhere with, you know, stuff."

"Does he always talk like this?" asked Ace, before seeing two men approach them.

"All the time…Ace, what's the matter?" asked Ryan.

He looked to see two men marching towards them. They were walking weird, robotically. And they were wearing…earmuffs?

"All of you, take cover" said Ace, in a very serious tone.

The men took out their guns.

"Get down!" yelled Ace.

And they opened fire…


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Seth's heart was going a mile a minute. He was holding onto Summer tightly, as if he were a frightened child holding onto a toy. Summer was doing the same to him.

He finally worked up the courage to look to Ryan and Ace, ignoring the voice in his head telling him that all he would see was his adopted brother bleeding and lifeless. To his utmost relief, Ryan was alive and unharmed, as was Ace.

But for how long, he realized. Those men that shot at them…they were probably still there. They could be walking up, ready to fire again.

Seth had never experienced anything like this before. The closest was at Holly's party, when Donny pulled a gun. But Donny was just grandstanding, really. He didn't really want to kill anybody, just intimidate the rich kids he despised so much. Even the shooting of Luke was unintentional, really, just a misfiring of the gun while Ryan tried to get it away from him.

Despite what Seth thought, this was new to Ryan as well. Of course, growing up in Chino, he had much more experience with guns than those in Newport did. But despite the average Newport citizen's view of Chino was that it was some sort of lawless wild land, guns were few and far-between. Most fights involved knifes, or pipes, or just your own fists. When a gun was pulled, it was often never fired; like Donny, it was used more as a tool of intimidation, to scare.

But these men were not trying to intimidate anyone. They fired as soon as they were in range, and they wanted to kill, not scare. Ryan was at a lost of what to do. If he tried to fight back, he would be killed, instantly; these men were not interested in talking, so he couldn't try to talk them down like he had with Donny and Oliver. The only way they would get out of this alive was if someone heard the shots, and the police arrived before they killed them.

"Hey, listen!" yelled Seth. "Listen, what do you want money? I'm Caleb Nichol's grandson, I could give you lots of money! Please, don't kill us and you'll never have to work another day in your lives!"

Seth was trying to hold back tears, to not show how scared he was.

"It's not going to work! They don't want money!" yelled Ace. "Whatever you say to them, they're not going to listen!"

"How do you know? Do you know these guys!?" replied a hysterical Seth.

"No….yes, just listen to me, okay!?"

Seth decided to do as she asked. He didn't know Ace, and truth be told he was suspicious of her (how did she not know what the internet was) but one look at Ryan told him that his brother was just as out of his element as himself. Ace, on the other hand, though worried, looked like she knew what she was talking about.

"Okay, okay, so what do we do?!" yelled a panicked Seth.

"Just let me think, okay!" yelled a frustrated Ace.

The men ignored the voices as they walked closer.

- -

Marissa screamed as a cold metallic hand grabbed her leg. It had torn through the bottom of the elevator as if it were made of paper. The Cyberman's other hand was holding onto the elevator itself, preventing it from going up. The Doctor would not be allowed to escape.

However, the Cyberman's attention on focused not on the Doctor, but on the female accompanying him. A quick search in the data banks showed no known companions of the Doctor matching her appearance. Still, something about her…

"_You're the girl at school who organizes things, parties and stuff, right?"_

The girl was Marissa Cooper. He was obsessed with her, before; before he had been improved. She was of no importance to him now. The survival of the Cyber-Race was his only concern now.

"_Friends, friends, Marissa, I'm in love with you!"_

He was scaring her. Of course he was, that was the intention. Emotional beings are easily intimidated; it was one of their many weaknesses. But for some reason, he felt bothered by her reaction. He wanted her to stop…

"_Put the gun down you get a second chance."_

Without even realizing why, the Cybermen let go, both of the girl, and the elevator. He fell when as it went up.

He had let the Doctor escape. Why? He had no feelings for the girl, the Cybermen removed them.

Didn't they?

- -

Ace peeked above the boulder she and Ryan were hiding behind. The armed men were closing in on them.

"Okay, on my count…" she whispered to Ryan. They both started to push the boulder.

"One…"

The men grew close.

"Two…"

Ryan was putting all his strength into it.

"Three!"

The boulder fell down onto one of the men. Ryan winced as he heard a splatting noise.

The other man didn't react to the death of his comrade, and aimed his gun up. Ryan reached cover, barley missing the bullets. Seth and Summer hugged him, assuring themselves he was fine.

Ace, meanwhile, was wondering why, with her out in the open, the man wasn't aiming at her.

Of course, she realized. The Cybermen probably wanted her alive, all the better to lure the Doctor to them. Which meant this guy wasn't going to shoot her when she went up and kicked his ass.

She ran up to the gunned man, and kicked him as hard as she could in the stomach. He dropped his gun and collapsed. Ace then took off the earmuffs. She avoided the man's lifeless stare.

She turned to see that Ryan, Seth and Summer had come down. Ryan looked ill, and was staring at the crushed man.

"I killed him" he muttered.

"Ryan, you had no other choice. He was going to kill us; he was going to kill you!" argued Seth.

"I killed him" repeated Ryan.

"He was already dead" stated Ace. The three looked at her, confused.

"Those earmuffs; they're brainwashers. When they go on, they emit a signal, that scrambles your mind, destroys your will. Turns your brain into a receiver; after that, all you're body is just a big, meaty puppet."

"Okay, Ace, I appreciate you trying to use humor to lighten up a serious situation, but-"

"I'm not joking" replied Ace, in her most serious tone. The three continued to stare at her.

Ace sighed.

"I suppose I should start from the beginning…" se began.

- -

The Cyber-Leader approached Cyber-Unit #8532099055795719534X4321.

"You failed in the capture of the Doctor" the Cyber-Leader stated.

"Yes" confirmed the Cyber-Unit in question.

"Why?"

The Cyber-Unit knew what he had to do. Logic dictated that somehow, his conversion had been faulty, and he still had some emotions left. This was rare, but not unheard of, and could be corrected. He had to admit the fault.

"The female…she had gold with her" he lied.

The Cyber-Leader was silent for a moment.

"Very well. It does not matter. The Doctor is too late. Everything is almost ready. The conversion of Earth will begin tonight."

With that, the Cyber-Leader left. And the Cyberman wondered why he had lied to his leader.

"…_you get a second chance."_


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Sandy slammed the phone in frustration.

"No luck with the police?" asked Kirsten sympathetically, although she was working on getting the house ready for the Newpsies.

"Police?" asked Julie, who was helping Kirsten.

Sandy stared at Julie, annoyed.

"The homeless of this city have been vanishing for weeks, and I seem to be the only one who cares!"

"Well, maybe they migrated to LA or something" said Julie as she set things up.

"They're people, Julie, not ducks."

"Well, they both beg you for food when you're at the park."

Both Sandy and Kirsten glared at her. Julie held up her hands.

"Okay, okay, I admit, that was cruel. Still, I grew up in Riverside, doesn't that mean I can tell poor jokes, you know, like how you can Jew jokes?"

"So, you never tell Jew jokes?" asked a doubtful Sandy.

"Well…." began Julie. "Only _really _funny ones."

Sandy just gave her an angry look.

"Oh come on, I'm like the least offensive Newpsie there is. You should hear Nicole's 'black Flintstones' jokes."

All three then heard a car pulling up.

"Well, that's my signal to go upstairs. Come get me when they're done, sweetie" said Sandy as he kissed his wife. Kirsten then noticed Julie looking anxious.

"Everything okay, Julie?" asked a concerned Kirsten.

"Huh? Oh, sure, everything's fine. Uh, I'm going to use the backdoor to let myself out-"

"'Let yourself out?' Julie, you're not leaving, are you?" asked an incredulous Kirsten.

"Well, I have a lot to do-"

"Julie, you're the one who cares about these things, you can't just leave me here!"

Julie put on her begging face.

"Please, Kirsten. You know I normally love these things, but after what happened to Marissa, and it being in the paper and all…you don't know what's it like to hear Newpsies gossip about your kid, trying to sound comforting-"

"Actually, I do" stated Kirsten simply, to Julie's confusion.

"What? Kirsten, we didn't even mention Seth until he started dating Summer, and even now he-oh" replied Julie, realizing who Kirsten was referring to. The two were silent for a moment, before Kirsten sighed.

"Go, Julie, but remember, you owe me for this!"

"Oh thank you, Kiki, you're the best friend ever, no matter what Taryn says"

"What? What does Taryn say about-" Kirsten was interrupted by the door closing shut.

- -

"You remember the story I told you, right?" began Ace.

"Yeah. You were working at a restaurant for some asshole, until this guy came and hired you to be his secretary. Are you saying you were lying?" replied Ryan.

"No. I just, well, wasn't telling you the whole truth"

"Which is?" demanded an impatient Summer.

Ace sighed. She better just get it out.

"The restaurant was also a spaceship. My boss was an alien, and so is the guy I who rescued me. He's a Time Lord, and he calls himself the Doctor. We travel in the TARDIS, which looks like a police box but its bigger on the inside, and it's both a spaceship and a time machine. Since then, we've been traveling through out time and space, fighting aliens, tyrants, and frequently a combination of the two. And that's why I know what these 'earmuffs' are. Because I've seen them, and the guys who made them, before"

The Newport teens were silent for a moment. Naturally, Seth was the first to speak. He slowly walked up to Ace.

"Okay, Ace, this has been very enlightening. First off, thank you for telling us you're a crazy person _before_ wielding a gun. Previous psychopaths have been nowhere near as accommodating."

"Seth, I'm, telling the truth."

"I'm sure it's the truth from your perspective-"

"Listen, I know this sounds crazy, but it's true, every word. And the fact is, this things" she held up a earmuff for emphasis, "means there are Cybermen nearby."

Seth was about to reply when he was interrupted by Summer.

"Seth, I think we should listen to what she's saying."

Before Seth could protest, she turned to Ace.

"This Doctor…is he short, Scottish, obsessed with question marks?"

"You've seen him"

"Seth and I did, yesterday. He destroyed these chambers."

"SUMMER!" yelled Seth, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Obviously, both of them share this…fantasy!"

Seth was starting to panic. Just a minute earlier, he, his girlfriend and brother were about to be gunned down. To save him, Ryan was forced to kill one of them. Now this strange girl was telling him that this was somehow connected to time travel and aliens.

"Seth…Coop met him too. She said he saved her from a…a robot."

"A Cyberman" stated Ace.

Seth turned to the two girls, not believing what was going on.

"Oh well, if Marissa says so, then it must be true. Marissa always has a clear head, after all. It's not like she constantly drinks, and she would certainly recognize a crazy person when she saw one, wouldn't she!?" spat out Seth.

"SETH!" Seth felt a hard grip on his shoulder. He turned to see Ryan.

"That's enough, Seth. Look, obviously we're all shook up by what just happened, but we have to stay calm."

Seth just glared at him, and pushed free of his grip.

"Fine, you guys stay and listen to crazy here. I'm going to get the police" he said as he walked back, before turning and running.

"Listen, sorry about Seth, he's just…." Ryan began to apologize, though truthfully he was wondering if Ace was dealing with a full deck as well.

"I know, this is really hard to take in. But we have to go."

"What? Listen, we just killed someone. I think we should wait for the police to come. If we run, I mean, I'm on probation-"

"Ryan, somewhere in this town are a bunch of very strong, very determined cyborgs. I have to find the Doctor, he's the only one who can stop them."

Ryan thought for a moment. This was crazy. Sure, lifer in Newport was crazy, but soap opera crazy, not sci-fi crazy. Still, she needed someone to believe her, like he did.

"All right" he sighed. "Where do we find this 'Doctor'?"


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Sandy moaned again. Kirsten was really going to owe him for this.

The plan was that he was going to stay upstairs while his wife dealt with the Newpsies. Ten minutes ago, however, his wife had burst in his office. She had run out of something or other (he was paying only half attention) and it was of grave importance that she go to the store and get it. As such, he had to watch the Newpsies. It would be impolite not to, she said. So, here he was, being forced to listen to their inane chatter while they planned some charity party to save apes.

"Okay, so we all agree, the party will be jungle themed?" asked Mrs. Fisher, who, with the absence of Kirsten and Julie, seemed to be leading them. All of them raised their hands in agreement.

"Ooh, ooh, I have an idea" called out a dark-haired woman, Helen Brown. "We should get trained monkeys to be waiters. They could all wear little tuxedos, it would be adorable!"

"I don't know" countered Mrs. Davies. "I thought we agreed no animals after the cougar incident of '95?"

"Well, maybe if Carol hadn't gotten the cheapest chain she could find?-" began Mrs. Moffat, eyeing Carol Tennant.

"Oh come on, no one was hurt, and it was the most talked about of event of the year."

"Carol! Holly had nightmares for a year!"

"Well, I'm talking about monkeys, you know, chimpanzees. They're harmless"

"Actually, chimpanzees are really viscous little bastards" interrupted Sandy. "They've been known to attack children in Africa."

The Newpsies looked more disappointed than thankful for the information.

"Okay," began Mrs. Moffat, "we'll use human waiters, _but_ we can dress them up as monkeys, like in _Planet of the Apes_!"

The Newpsies began talking at once, becoming almost one irritating sound to Sandy's ears. Amongst it all, he heard a doorbell.

"I'll get it!" he announced as he immediately got up. Hopefully it was Kirstein, and he could back upstairs. He opened the door.

"Good afternoon, I'm the Doctor" said a short man dressed in eccentric clothing, who then held out his hand. "May I speak to Kirsten Cohen?" he asked.

"Not right now, but she should be back soon"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'll come back-"

"Nonsense" said Sandy as he grabbed the Doctor's hand. "Come in, we'll talk"

Sandy didn't know who this 'Doctor' was, but so desperate was he to have a non-Newpsie to talk to, he would have let in Charles Manson.

He dragged the Doctor into the main room, where the Newpsies set their eyes of him. The Doctor was immediately reminded of when he and Frobisher walked into a tribe meeting of the flesh-eating Trikorin people of Gorgrok.

"Hello. You can call me the Doctor" the strange man began, taking off his hat.

- -

Julie sighed as she turned off the TV. Even Oprah wasn't going to help her mood.

She could imagine what was going on at the Newpsie meeting. Carol had probably made a retarded proposal like she always did, and Kirsten would politely explain why they couldn't do it. She then remembered she saw Kirsten leave, so instead Sandy must have quickly shot it down.

Last summer seemed like a million years ago, she thought. Her husband was an upstanding member of the community, her daughter was the Queen of Harbor, and Julie Cooper, once yet another nobody from Riverside, was the prime Newpsie. Sure, they all deferred to Kirsten, but that was because of who she was. She was the daughter of Caleb Nichol; of course she was going to be in charge of Newpsie events. But it was obvious to Julie, if not the rest of the Newpsies, that Kirsten was only doing this because she felt she had to. She saw the how the Newpsies irritated her, how uncomfortable she was when they gossiped.

Julie, by contrast, loved ordering around Newpsies, planning parties, gossiping about the town's scandals. It was everything she wanted, everything she dreamed about while she was growing up in Riverside. Last summer, however, the dream ended. Jimmy was revealed to have stolen the town's money; her daughter went from dating the most popular boy in school, to a kid from Chino, to some psycho. Marissa was now longer 'this generation's Kirsten Nichol,' but a troubled and messed up girl. And though her daughter thought she was just embarrassed, it did hurt Julie to hear the Newpsies gossip about her.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the doorbell. Moaning, she dragged herself off the coach.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" she yelled.

She opened to door to reveal a very angry Jimmy Cooper.

"What the hell have you been doing to my daughter?" he demanded.

- -

The Cyber-Leader was analyzing the footage when he was interrupted again by the annoying human.

"I thought we had a deal" yelled Caleb, furious.

"We do. What is this about" the Cyber-Leader inquired. In response, Caleb pointed to the projected footage. It showed a failed attempt by some of their mind-controlled humans at capturing the Doctor's companion.

"The dark-haired kid your guys are trying to kill! That's my grandson!" he roared.

"The boy is unharmed. In the future, we will make certain he is spared" the Cyber-Leader replied calmly.

Caleb longed to strike the arrogant robot, before remembering such an attempt would shatter his hand. The Cyber-Leader again turned his attention to the footage.

"Look at how the Doctor's companion reacts to the blonde" he pointed out.

"Such actions would indicate a desire to mate with him" said the Cyber-Lieutenant. Caleb would have laughed at the statement if he weren't so frightened.

"If so, we could use their emotional attachment to our advantage" said another Cyberman.

"Excellent!" said the Cyber-Leader. He pointed to a Cyberman.

"You! You will go to the location of the young humans. Threaten the blonde male to force to the Doctor's companion's hand."

The Cyberman walked away. Caleb turned to the Cyber-Leader.

"You…you aren't going to actually hurt him, are you?" he asked nervously. He certainly wasn't the biggest fan of the boy, but he didn't desire to see him hurt.

"That will depend on the girl's cooperation" answered the Cyber-Leader, who left it at that.


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

"-So, I'd finally convinced the Imperiax that it was the Monk that stole the Crown Diamond, not me. And of course, that's when Jamie and Zoe ran into the courtroom, yelling 'Doctor, Doctor, we found the crystal!"

The Newpsies erupted with laughter, and the Doctor smiled. He'd had centuries of experience dealing with the upper crust of many worlds, and he knew how to get on their good side, even if he preferred facing, say, Sontarans.

Sandy was analyzing the strange man. On the one hand, his stories were actually interesting and the Newpsies weren't talking as much. On the other, he remembered his son's description of the man who blew up one of Caleb's buildings. He was suspicious when he heard Seth's story; his son had a weird sense of humor, and sometimes he was unsure whether he was joking or not. But this 'Doctor' looked exactly as Seth and Summer described him. Could he have let a dangerous lunatic into his house? Granted, a house full of Newpsies, but still…

"God, you've lead such an interesting life!" said Taryn, a little tipsy. "What do you think of Newport so far?"

"Oh, it's interesting, I suppose. Actually, it reminds of my home, I suppose" replied the Doctor as he sipped some tea.

"Oh, well, we're very pleased to hear that" replied Mrs. Davies.

"That wasn't a compliment" he muttered under his breath.

- -

_Damn it, Ryan, why did you leave?_ thought Seth as he and the police walked up to the fallen men.

It seemed like Seth was the only one acting sensibly. Two men had tried to gun him, Ryan, Summer and Ace down. To save them, Ryan (under the pressure of that weird Ace girl) pushed a boulder on one of them.

Ryan had killed. The same Ryan who protected him from bullies, who gave him advice on Summer, who played video games and clearly cheating because Seth was the master of the PlayStation and there was no way Ryan could beat him…

Seth shook his head to get back on track. Ryan was clearly shaken up. God, this was the sort of thing that Ryan wasn't supposed to have worried about in Newport. In any case, as soon as the crisis was over, Ace started telling them some bullshit about how Earth was being invaded by cyborgs and she traveled in time and they had to find the guy that had bombed Grandpa's building…

And yet Ryan and Summer seemed to believe her. He guessed they were still shocked about what happened, because he was the only one who did the sensible thing, go get the police.

He was back, and Ryan, Summer, and Ace were gone. He didn't want to think about what this would mean for Ryan's probation. He didn't think he could handle it if Ryan left Newport.

This was that Ace's fault, he knew it. God, and to think that less than a day ago he was thinking that Ace could be a nice normal girl for Ryan, a nice change from the turmoil that was Marissa. Christ, one day with Ace had done more damage than half a year with Marissa.

He was interrupted in his thoughts by the chatter of police.

"Be on the lookout for a Ryan Atwood and a Summer Roberts, they are wanted for questioning concerning a murder."

Damn it, Ryan, why did you leave?

- -

Sandy somewhat stiffened as the Doctor joined him in the kitchen.

"Little much, aren't they?" he offered, trying to start a conversation with the strange man.

"Oh, trust me, I've dealt with worse" the Doctor replied, cheerful as always.

Sandy nodded, and the two were silent for a moment.

"So, you come from some town like Newport?" Sandy asked.

"Oh, somewhat, I suppose. Both think pretty highly of themselves, both are rather inwards looking, and neither seem to like outsiders coming into their midst" explained the Doctor, who seemed to be inspecting the room.

"Tell me about it. When Kirsten first brought me here to meet her folks, I felt like a leper" Sandy commented as he poured himself a glass of wine.

"And bringing that boy from…Chino, was it?, certainly doesn't seemed to have helped your standing"

Sandy looked at the Doctor, confused.

"The…Newpsies, I believed you called them, were quite anxious to tell me about you. When you were out of the room, of course"

Sandy sighed.

"I would like to say I was disappointed in them, but…well, it's pretty much what I expect of them" Sandy explained.

"Still, you may be pleased to know that little of the gossip was directed at young Ryan itself" offered the Doctor. "They seemed to have accepted him, albeit reluctantly"

"Really? Well, good for Ryan. Not that either he or I care about the acceptance of…them, but at least it means he won't have to deal with their shit as much"

The Doctor nodded in agreement.

"I must say, I admire your courage in bringing an undesirable here. I faced a similar situation"

Sandy nodded the Doctor's expression changed from cheerful to crestfallen.

"I was traveling with a friend, one of my best. But my people…err, my community, called me back. They said I was needed. And I knew how they would react if I were to bring Sarah back with me. So, I left here. I haven't seen her since"

"Why didn't you pick her back up when you left?" asked Sandy. The Doctor sighed.

"I suppose I was…ashamed of how I reacted. I didn't feel like I could face her again. I suppose that's why the next time I went home, I brought my new friend with me"

"How'd that go?"

"Quite well, actually. She lives there now, found someone to settle down with"

Sandy noted that this friend was again a _her_. He wondered what exactly traveling with man entailed.

"Well, good for her. Although I don't know if I would want Ryan to stay here. For his sake, I mean"

The Doctor nodded, letting Sandy know he knew what he meant.

"So" Sandy began. "What do you want to discuss with my wife?"

"It involves the Newport Group's new partners"

"What, that British electronics company?"

"Yes. They are hiding a very big secret."

Sandy raised his eyebrows.

"What kind of secret"

"A very big one. One that could have grave implications for the entire planet"

- -

Julie moaned as Jimmy charged into their – _her_- house.

"Jimmy, what are you doing here?" she demanded, putting her hands on her hips.

"I'm here because I just got to reading the newspaper. You _do_ know about the newspaper, don't you?" Jimmy venomously spat out.

"Of course I do! If you want to see Marissa, she's up in her room, grounded until…until I feel like it!"

"Oh, yes, I'm sure that will fix everything!"

"Well, at least I actually thought of a punishment, that's more than you ever did!"

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh come on, Jimmy, whenever Marissa did something bad, you had to be the good cop, leaving me to actually discipline her!"

"Oh yes, and what a great discipliner you were! What were your punishments, she got 200 to spend at the mall instead of the usual 300?"

Julie gasped, and walked up to her ex-husband.

"You still blame me, don't you?"

"Blame you? For what?"

"For what happened to you. For 'forcing' you to spend so much money, you were forced to steal!"

"Well I certainly wasn't buying ponies for myself!"

"Yes, because God knows telling your wife 'Hey honey, we're having money trouble, we'll have to cut back a bit' wasn't an option. No, clearly embezzlement was the only option!"

- -

Marissa was just a few feet away from her house when she heard him.

"Marissa!"

"Ryan!"

The two ran up to each other and embraced. That they were broken up didn't really matter at the moment. After what they went through, they needed this.

The two stared into each other's eyes when Marissa felt someone grab her from behind.

"Coop! Oh God, you won't believe what happened! We were at the beach and some crazy guys came up and tried to shoot us and-"

"Ace!" interrupted Marissa as she saw the blonde. She broke free of her best friend and ran over.

"The Doctor-"

"You were with him?" asked Ace. Marissa nodded her head in response.

"He told me if I saw you, to tell you-" stuttered the nervous girl.

"Tell me, tell me what?"

"Cybermen. They're here."

Ace nodded. She had already deduced that from the thugs that tried to kill them. They were the same 'ear muffs' as the hypnotized drones that guarded the Cybermen's ship during their last encounter with the metallic race.

"He said that he knows you're mad with him, but you have to get to him, that it's going to get very dangerous very soon" Marissa continued. Both Ryan and Summer heard that last ominous statement. Ace turned to Ryan.

"We have to find him!"

"You guys go" said Marissa. "I'm going to see my parents. Maybe I can convince them to leave Newport, with Kaitlin. I don't want them here when…it happens."

"I'll come with you" said Ryan. To him the matter was simple. Marissa needed help. He loved her. He had ever since he saw her on the driveway.

Marissa would have argued that Ryan didn't need to, but she wasn't in the mood.

"I'll come too" said Summer. The three went into the Cooper home, followed shortly by Ace.

None of them noticed the International Electromatics truck that pulled up. And they were all inside when a tall silver figure stepped out.

- -

The jaws of both Julie and Jimmy dropped when they saw their daughter and her friends.

"Marissa! What are you doing out of your room!" yelled a furious Julie.

"Oh, so she left without you noticing, what a surprise" stated Jimmy. His ex-wife ignored the comment. She turned her eyes to Ryan and Summer.

"And I suppose you two helped her escape, again!"

She then noticed Ace.

"Hello, Ace" she greeted, in a much calmer voice.

"Hi" replied the British girl.

"Listen, Mom, I know you're pissed-" began Marissa.

"Oh, you bet I am!"

"-but right now we have to get out of Newport. Something very bad is about to happen"

"Oh, you can bet something bad is about to happen. You're not leaving this house until-"

Julie's rant was interrupted by the sound of the door being smashed open. The group turned to see the door on the ground, and a tall silver figure, armed with a gun. A figure recognized by both Ace and Marissa.

The Cyberman fired its gun into the ceiling, to further intimidate the primitive creatures. It turned to Ace.

"You are the Doctor's companion!"

"Yeah, what's it to ya!" replied Ace, who of all of them was showing the least fear.

"You will reveal the Doctor's location" said the Cyberman. It was not a request.

"I've got only one response to that" said Ace as she flipped the silver giant off.

This response was expected. The Cyberman looked around the room, at the humans who were scared they couldn't even run. It then grabbed the blonde male and lifted it up by the neck.

"RYAN!" screamed Marissa. Summer grabbed her friend, to prevent her from rushing over and doing something futile.

"Where is the Doctor?" the Cyberman repeated, holding a struggling Ryan.

Ryan was struggling, but he was finding it futile. He had fought several strong people; AJ, Eddie, Luke – but compared to this – this _thing_ – they were nothing.

Jimmy got up and ran to the intruder. At Cotillion, Ryan had rushed to his defense when he was attacked by an irate Mr. Fisher. He figured it was time to pay the boy back.

Mr. Fisher, however, lacked the strength of ten men.

To Jimmy, it felt like a car had hit him. The force of the metal arm sent him flying across the room.

"JIMMY!" screamed Julie.

"DAD!" screamed Marissa.

The Cyberman ignored the worried women, and turned again to Ace.

"Where is the Doctor?" it intoned.

"I don't know, I swear" replied Ace.

"Tell me!"

Ryan felt the pressure around his neck growing stronger.

"Tell me or he dies!"


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Ryan felt the pressure around his neck grow tighter.

"Tell me or he dies!" yelled the Cyberman at Ace.

For Ryan, the experience was familiar. He was being hurt by someone bigger and stronger than him. This was different from the beating of his mom's boyfriends, however, and not just the fact that this attacker seemed to have super-human strength. His attacker clearly had no personal grudge or such against him; it was acting in a cold, calculated manner.

He noticed Jimmy attempt to confront the 'Cyberman' (as Ace called it) and how Mr. Cooper was swatted away like a fly. It was ironic, he thought. For once, there were people willing to stop someone beating on him, and yet they were powerless to do anything.

Marissa felt tears running down her face, but she couldn't care. Ryan was being killed. Ryan, her once and (hopefully) future boyfriend, who had saved her from dying in Tijuana, from the psychotic Oliver. And now she could only watch him as some robotic monstrosity squeeze the life out of him.

No, she had to do something. She looked around, looking for anything that could help the love of her life. And she was the necklace around her mother's neck.

"Mom!" she whispered as she moved to her mother's side. The Cyberman noted the movement, but ignored it. The only one of these apes that mattered was the Doctor's companion.

"Oh God Marissa!" let out a panicked Julie as she latched on to her daughter.

"Mom, your necklace! Is it real gold?"

Julie immediately switched from panicked to offended.

"What? Yes, it was a present from your grandfather, why are we talking about this now?"

Ace was panicked. Yet again, someone she met and cared about was going to be taken from her, just like Mike and Sorin. She felt helpless; her back-pack, full of Nitro-9, was at the Cohens next door, but she doubted the Cyberman would let her get away; even if she did, she doubted she could be back in time to save Ryan. Without the Doctor, she was useless, just as she had been when they'd confronted Fenric.

"Where is the Doctor!?" yelled the Cyberman.

"I don't know!" answered a screaming Ace.

The Cyberman was not satisfied with that answer. If she did not tell him the truth, he would kill the boy, and move on to another one of these humans.

"Tell me where he is!" the Cyberman repeated, increasing his grip on Ryan's neck.

Ace was about to answer when she saw Julie Cooper creeping behind the Cyberman, holding a gold necklace.

Julie, following her daughter's instructions, reached from behind the Cyberman and started slamming the necklace into its chest unit. The Cyberman staggered and let out a metallic screech.

Ryan felt the metal hand release his neck, before he hit the ground. Marissa and Summer ran up to him, and got him away from the staggering Cyberman. Julie, feeling the last parts of her necklace crumble, also ran away.

"Halt!" gargled the Cyberman, as it lifted up its gun and started to fire. The blast shot a chandelier, causing it to fall to the floor and shatter. The humans screeched and ducked for cover.

Except, that is, for Ace. The Cyberman was dying, but as long as was still armed, it could still do a lot of damage. Hopefully, she could get the gun away from the disoriented cyborg.

She grabbed the gun and started to pull. However, the Cyberman still hung on to it. He was losing his grasp, though. If he hadn't, it wouldn't have bulged at all.

Ryan slowly opened his eyes, to see Ace struggling with the Cyberman. Despite his pain, he lifted his body up. He had to do something.

Ace felt the gun start to power up. Right now, she was in its range. But if she ran, someone else could become its victim. She wouldn't allow that.

Marissa put her hand on Ryan's shoulder.

"Ryan, don't get up, you're hurt!" she pleaded with him.

"Have to-have to help Ace" he muttered in reply.

Ace was desperately trying to turn away the gun when she felt the pressure against her lessen. She then saw Ryan, who was now helping her push the gun.

The sound of the gun powering up grew louder, when the two teens managed to point the gun to the Cyberman's head. A blast came up and went directly to the head, causing the Cyberman to once again wail in agony. It wobbled a few feet, before collapsing face-first on the staircase.

The group stood silent for a few moments, expecting the metal monster to once again come to life. After they were sure that it was going to stay down, they slowly breathed.

"Oh god, Jimmy!" yelled Julie, remembering her ex. She rushed to help him, followed by Marissa and Summer.

- -

In the orbit of then-planet Pluto, a ship that had slept for years awakened once more.

The _Reason of Zhang _was an anachronism. It would be built centuries from now, on the other side of the galaxy at a converted Hakolian shipyard. As part of the Cyber-Fleet, it had battled humans, Daleks, the Z'Nai, and many others.

It was one of thousands that traveled back to the 20th century, as part of a final gambit of a weakening race; their objective to gain control of the Gallifreyian object known as the Nemesis statue; to use its power to conquer and convert Earth, and rewrite history in their favor.

It was the only one that survived the massacre, when the Time Lord known as the Doctor used the Nemesis to destroy the entire fleet.

Since that day, it had spent the majority of its time at the edge of the solar system, hidden from the telescopes and satellites of Earth and Mars. It had only a skeleton crew, most of whom stayed in stasis in any case; the majority of its crew had gone to Earth, to plot and plan a new way to conquer the Earth. And so the _Reason of Zhang _slept, waiting for a signal.

A signal it had just received.

Its engines powered, it began the journey to Earth, traveling at speeds at which their destination's scientists would deem impossible. It would reach the third planet in an hour.

Though its means had changed, its purpose remained unchanged: history would be changed. Earth would not grow into an interplanetary empire, an empire that would defeat the Cybermen.

The Cybermen would not be vanquished.

They would survive.

- -

Sandy was in shock as he saw that the Coopers' door had been torn down. He could only stare when he stepped inside.

Jimmy was the couch, tended to by Julie and Summer; on the chair was a clearly-injured Ryan, who was being helped by Marissa and Ace; and on the staircase was some unconscious man dressed up like Ziggy Stardust!

"What the hell is going on here!?" he yelled to no one in particular.

"Sandy…uh, well…." began Julie, unsure of where to even begin.

"I believe I can explain this, Mr. Cohen" said a man who walked in after the lawyer. Ace's head went up at the voice.

"Doctor!" she yelled as she ran up to her friend and embraced him.

"Ace!" replied the Doctor, a look of relief covering his face.

"Doctor, I'm sorry for what I said last night-"

"They'll be time for apologies, later, my dear, right now we have more pressing concerns" he interrupted. He broke the hug and walked toward the Cyberman.

"That, Mr. Cohen" he said, pointing his umbrella at the cyborg, "is a Cyberman. And I'd estimate there are currently hundreds in Newport at this very moment."

- -

As the Doctor explained the situation to the astonished Sandy, Ryan nervously walked up to Julie.

"Uh, hey, Mrs. Cooper" he began, not making eye contact. This was really.

"Oh, hey, Ryan. Umm, are you okay?" asked Julie, who also felt awkward.

"Yeah, that's kinda what I wanted to, uh, talk about. I, um, just wanted to thank you, for, uh, saving my life, uh, especially considering our, um, history and all that" he managed to spatter out.

"Oh, that's okay, Ryan, I'm sure you would have done the same for me"

Ryan started to scratch his head.

"Well, yeah, I would have, but I, well, would have thought-"

Julie was confused.

"What, just because you're not my favorite person in the world you think I would have let you die?" she asked, becoming offended.

"Well, no, I just wouldn't have expected to, you know, do what you did"

"Really?"

Ryan just looked away. She turned to her daughter.

"Marissa, you know I'm not that cold-hearted-" she stopped when she noticed her daughter looking away. She turned to Summer, who was also looking downwards.

"Is this really what you kids think of me? I mean, I know I'm the town bitch, but really, if I killed everyone I didn't like, half the town would be dead."

"Uh, sorry then, Mrs. Cooper" said Ryan timidly.

"You should be! Really, you should meet Veronica Townsend if you want to see a real bit-"

"Ryan! Come on! We're going!" yelled Sandy.

"What?" Leaving was the last thing he wanted to do right now. After what happened, he wanted his loved ones to stay close together; it made him feel safer.

"We're going to find Kirsten and Seth, and get out of here" Sandy explained, obviously not in a mood to be questioned.

"But what about-"

"That's their business, I suggest they leave now too"

"Sandy-"

"With all due respect, Mr. Cohen, we need your wife here. She could be very important to the Cybermen's defeat"

Sandy was incredulous.

"Are you actually asking me to leave my wife here, with what you said is about to happen-"

"Mr. Cohen" started the Doctor, his voice rising, "While I understand your concern for your family, they are not the only ones in danger here. Everyone in this town is, and if we don't stop them soon, then so is your entire species!"

Sandy was silent for a moment. Before he could reply, however, they began to hear a loud growling noise in the sky.

- -

Caleb Nichol watched as all the Cybermen moved about.

"What's going on!?" he demanded. One stopped and faced him.

"Our final triumph is at hand" it explained.

The Cyber-Leader addressed the screen.

"Activate the shield!"

- -

Most of Newport was outside, amazed at the sight. Some sort of craft was hovering in the air, its light illuminating the darkening sky. It was about to be followed by an even more astonishing sight.

A transparent orange shield appeared, reaching out from the craft and spreading across the entirety of Newport. Newport was now quite literally encased in a bubble.

- -

All over Newport, silver giants appeared, marching like soldiers, all coming out of buildings built for International Electromatics.

The invasion had begun.


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Alex Kelly climbed onto the bar to get attention.

"Listen, I need everyone to calm down! It's just a power outage!" she yelled, trying to gain control of the Bait Shop.

"Fuck you, lady! You 'been outside? It's like the fucking apocalypse or something!" someone yelled back at her.

Alex moaned. The fact was, the sky turning bright orange seconds before the power went out had freaked her out too. She wasn't a weather expert or anything, but she was fairly certain this wasn't supposed to happen. She couldn't let these people know about her concerns, however.

"Listen, I'm sure it's just a trick of the sun or something. Nothing to freak out about or anything!" she yelled.

The patrons started to yell back, when they heard the door being kicked in, followed by heavy metal footsteps.

The customers stood in silent owe as one of the silver giants started to speak.

"This city is now under control of the Cybermen. You will follow us to the conversion chamber. You will become like us" it intoned.

Alex was silent, along with everyone else. That is, until one, a large burly man, laughed and approached the strangers' leader.

"Fuck you, pal. If you think I'm going to listen to a bunch of dorks in tinfoil-"

The man screeched as he was grabbed by the silver giant, whose fist sparked with electricity. The man screamed as his body absorbed the shocks, before dropping to the ground.

The Bait Shop's patrons screamed and started to move around. The Cybermen, realizing they would have to corralled, pulled out long whips which glowed blue, and started to whip the humans, forcing them into a line.

- -

"What the hell just happened?" demanded Sandy, walking up close to the Doctor. The Doctor paid him now mind, however, and started at the sky, inspecting it.

"It appears to be an energy shield, the type invented by Earth colonists in the 26th century, to protect colonies from attacks. A magnificent design, really. It allows oxygen to go through, but keeps dense objects from getting in"

"So, it's a good thing?" asked Julie.

"Oh, not in this case. The Cybermen have salvaged much human technology. In this case, it serves to keep us in, and any help out."

"What do they want with Newport, anyway?" asked a panicked Summer.

"As a beachhead, a base from which they'll launch attacks on the rest of Earth. First, they'll convert everyone in Newport into Cybermen. If not stopped, they'll be able to do the majority of that by morning."

The Newport citizens stood silent at the Doctor's grim words. Finally, Ryan spoke.

"Then, I guess we'll have to stop them" said Ryan, sounding much more confident than he actually was.

- -

Johnny Harper ran through the beach, still in his wetsuit. He had left his surfboard back in the waves. All of his friends from Newport Union who came here to surf were now running around like headless chickens.

"JOHNNY!" he heard Chilli yell. Johnny ran to his longtime friend and grabbed his shoulder.

"What the hell's going on?!" he demanded.

"No one knows. A couple of minutes ago, this, like, spaceship shows up, and then the sky turned orange, and then the power went out, and-"

Chilli's frantic speech was interrupted by a blast hitting the beach, sending hurls of sand into the sky. Looking to the cliffs, they saw tall, shiny, silver men with guns and whips.

"Who the hell are they?" whispered Chilli.

On the cliffs, they saw someone launch himself at one of the strangers. It caught him by the neck.

"We better leave" muttered Chilli. Johnny had to agree. However, they then saw that the silver giants were on the beach now, starting to whip people, forming them into a line, as if they were cattle.

Johnny started to run, trying to get away from this nightmare. Then, he felt a blast just inches away from his leg. He was launched several feet into the air before crashing down with a resounding thud. Moaning, he tried to get up, only to feel an incredible pain in his leg. Looking at it, he saw the blast had ripped open his skin, exposing it right down to the bone.

He looked up see one of the giants looking down upon him.

"My leg…it's, it's hurt" he cried out.

The Cyberman reached down and lifted him up.

"It will be replaced."

- -

"Dear God…" Caleb muttered as he observed what was going on in his town. All over people he love...tolerated were being herded like cattle. Several had been killed. He turned to the Cyber-Leader.

"God damn it, people are dying out there! Don't you care!?" he demanded. The Cyber-Leader lowered his head and addressed the desperate man.

"Do you?" he asked.

"What?" replied a confused Caleb.

"People die on your world every day and you do not care about them" he elaborated.

Caleb opened his mouth, but found no words coming out. He could not think of a reply.

"Leader! The first humans have arrived!" a Cyberman informed.

"Excellent!" stated the Cyber-Leader as he clenched his fist.

Caleb looked down as the doors opened and a group of people were herded in by Cybermen and men wearing those earmuffs. He walked back, not wanting them to see them, and hopefully not hearing the screams that would ensue.

- -

It was quite clear to Seth what had happened to Newport.

He had been at the police station when the Cybermen attacked it, and saw the police bullets bounce off them. Now he was walking in a daze, not noticing the panicking citizens around him. He wanted his mom and dad, and Summer, and Ryan, and even grandpa and the Nana. He wanted someone to tell him monsters weren't real, despite the now sizeable evidence to the contrary.

He looked up to the sky. Yep, it was still orange.

He remembered back when he was 4 or 5, back when he lived in Berkeley. He had come up to visit his grandparents (it was one of the last times he saw his grandma before she got sick.) It was there that he met his 'Uncle Roy,' his grandpa's brother. He noted how uncomfortable his grandpa was in the presence of his new uncle; he would later learn that he hadn't seen his brother since he left home, and that Roy had only sought him out when he heard what a success his brother had become.

Seth had been sitting alone watching TV when his uncle came up to him, his breath smelling of what he had since realized was alcohol. His uncle told him about the bible; but it wasn't the parts Seth already knew about, such as Moses and Jesus, but about the end times, the apocalypse; something, his uncle said, would be occurring soon.

The world would be engulfed in flame, and demons would walk the earth and terrorize everyone. The good would be okay, because God would whisk them off to Heaven right before it happened; but those who were bad would be left to suffer in damnation.

Seth was disturbed by what his uncle was telling him, and his parents and grandparents heard his wails; while his mother and grandmother comforted him, his dad and grandpa, both looking furious, escorted Roy out; he never saw Roy again.

His family assured him that what Roy told him wasn't true; but now it seemed they were wrong. Judgment Day had come, and all of Newport had been thrown into the Pit; the demons were shinier than he expected, but they were demons all the same.

"Cohen" he heard a voice. He turned to see Luke in his car.

"Cohen, come on!" he yelled. Seth only started at him, trance-like. Luke moaned, and got out and dragged Seth away, something he had done many times, although this was the first time he did it with a benevolent intent.

"Come on, we got to get somewhere safe" Luke told him. Seth started to laugh.

How, he wanted to ask Luke. How could they get somewhere safe?

It was the End Times; there wasn't anywhere safe left.


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Theresa Rodriguez felt the ground rumbling. Turning around, she saw several military trucks coming up the Chino streets. Written on their sides was 'U.N.I.I.T.'

She approached one of the soldiers.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"United Nations Intelligence Taskforce, m'am, please step away" the soldier answered quickly.

"What the hell's happening in there?" she demanded, pointing to the orange sphere.

"The situation is under control" was the only answer she got. She opened her mouth, but was sounded out by a helicopter coming in for a landing.

Colonel Lithgow stepped out of the helicopter once it landed, and he marched into the hastily set-up base only a mile away from the mysterious orange field.

"Report" he demanded.

"The ship appeared 32 minutes ago, and the field appeared shortly after. It encompasses the whole of Newport, as well as the surrounding area" a tech said.

"Have we found a way to get in?"

"Not yet, sir. All attempts to penetrate the shield so far have failed."

"Can we go underneath it?"

"Already thought of that. The sphere goes two miles down, and in fact covers the bottle as well. Whole town's in a bubble" muttered another.

Lithgow sighed.

"Do we at least know who we're dealing with?" he asked. He was handed several grainy pictures, showing tall figures glad in silver.

"They appear to be related to the cyborgs who tried to take over London back in 1970, as well as the aliens who attacked the Snowcap back in '86."

"Cybermen" Lithgow confirmed.

"We got a call from HQ, they're setting up a satellite link with General Lethbridge-Stewart. He lead UNIT forces against them in the 1970 invasion, his experience could prove invaluable."

"I am sure of that, but we can't actually fight them unless we somehow get through that force field" replied Lithgow, frustrated.

"We may have some good news, sir. As you know, our satellites are programmed to search for certain things. It took this yesterday, from Newport Beach."

Lithgow looked at the picture. A blue telephone box.

"Is it still there?"

The aide shook his head.

"Vanished yesterday."

"I wouldn't worry gentlemen" said an old British voice. Lithgow turned to see a telephone screen, one which was just set up. On it was an old white-haired man, dressed in military clothing. General 'Brigadier' Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart.

"The Doctor has never been one to run away when he's needed. I'm sure he's doing everything he can" said the man with the utmost certainty.

"I hope so" replied Lithgow, as he looked at satellite footage showing what was going on inside the field.

"Because right now, he's the only hope those people got."

- -

"So, what do we do?" asked Sandy, saying what everyone was wondering.

"Your wife's company constructed the building the Cybermen are using as their base. As such, she should be able to help us to get in" said the Doctor.

"But we got in earlier" said Marissa.

"Yes, but not into the control room, which is where we need to go. There, we can shut off the shield, allowing your military forces to enter. Besides, they knew were there from the beginning, it was only a stroke of luck that allowed us to escape"

"Wait, you took my daughter-" Julie stated angrily.

"Miss Cooper, I have over 900 years of experience looking after those younger than myself, do not lecture me" the Doctor said forcibly, hoping to stop that argument before it started. Fortunately, Julie did not press the matter further. The Doctor turned to Sandy.

"Your wife, do you know where she went?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Excellent. Come on, let's go" he gestured to the rest of them.

"Wait" said Summer. Her voice, usually loud and big, was instead soft. "I-I can't go with you guys"

"Sum, why?" asked Marissa.

"My dad. I have to find him" she replied, her eyes watering. Julie sighed and put her hands on her shoulders.

"Come on, Summer, I'll take you." Summer slowly lifted her face up.

"Thanks Mrs. Cooper"

"I'll go with you. In case you run into trouble" said Ace, looking to the Doctor for permission. He nodded in approval.

"Before we leave, I must warn you all" the Doctor started. "It is very possible that you will discover a Cyberman that was actually someone you know. You will probably want to try to reach them, to convince them to fight the Cyber-Processing"

"Don't. They may have their body and memories, but the Cybermen will have destroyed everything that made them the person you knew. They will not care who you are, they will only try to do to you what was done to them. It doesn't matter what your relationship was with them, they will be as dangerous as that Cyberman in that house" he continued, pointing at the Cooper house.

As Ace and Summer went to help Jimmy into the car, Julie walked up to Ryan.

"Okay, Ryan, I know we don't always see eye to eye-"

"-But we both care about Marissa, I know, we have this talk like, every three weeks" interrupted Ryan.

"Yeah, it does sound familiar"

The two stood silent for a moment.

"I won't let anything happen to her" said Ryan.

"I know" said Julie.

As Ace opened the door, she felt the Doctor's hand on her back.

"Remember, Ace-"

"-I know, be careful-"

"Ace!" the Doctor pronounced. "Remember, I have faith in you"

Ace was silent.

"Thanks Professor."

Ace walked over to Ryan and hugged him.

"Watch out for him. He may be smart, but I doubt he could buy groceries without help"

"I will" said Ryan, as they broke away and ran to Sandy's car.

- -

Seth jumped when the door open.

"Wow, Cohen, relax, it's me!" assured Luke.

"Luke, right" muttered Seth, quickly, assuring himself. He looked at Luke, and saw the tears.

"Were they there?" asked Seth. They had gone to Luke's house, hoping that Mr. Ward would somehow know what to do. In retrospect, Seth thought, it was a vain hope. Like anyone had planned for robot invasion.

"None of them. Dad, Brad, Eric…they were all gone" said Luke softly, resting his head on the steering wheel.

Seth was unsure of what to do. Never would he have thought he'd be in the position of having to comfort his long-time tormentor.

"Hey, at least you didn't find their corpses or anything"

Luke's head slowly turned to look at Seth.

"Yeah, uh, sorry-"

"No, you're right. They're alive, they have to be"

Seth wasn't as sure as that, but decided to let the issue go.

"All right, let's try your house-" Luke began.

"Wait. Summer's house is near here, right"

"Yeah. You…want to go there?"

"I want to make sure she's okay."

In truth, Seth's motives were more selfish. He wanted his girlfriend's comfort.

"Yeah, sure" replied Luke as he turned the keys.

- -

Kirsten Cohen let out a scream as the whip hit her back

"All humans are to proceed to the conversion chamber" intoned one for what seemed to be the 100th time.

Just a few hours ago, things seemed normal. Then, the sky went orange and these…'Cybermen' appeared, and started to force the people of Newport into lines.

Sandy would save her. He had to.

- -

"He's gone!" cried Summer as Marissa held her. They had arrived at the Roberts home minutes ago, only to find the door had been torn apart, the house in a state of disarray, and Summer's father and step-mother missing.

"Summer, don't worry, I'm sure he's okay" Julie offered.

"I want my dad!" cried out Summer.

"_Summer!" _said a voice outside.

"Seth?" whimpered Summer.

The group rushed outside, to see Luke's car. Summer and Seth ran up to each other.

"Oh, God, Summer, you're okay!" said Seth.

"Uh, guys, we could have a problem" interrupted Ace.

It was then that Seth and Summer noticed the sounds of metallic marching. Coming right to them was a patrol of Cybermen.


	20. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Chapter 19

The Cybermen patrol marched towards the group.

"This city is now controlled by the Cybermen" its leader intoned. "All humans are to report to the conversion chamber. Resistance is useless. You will be like us"

Summer felt Seth start to shake. She turned to Ace, who was going through her backpack, and took out long silver cans.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Fightin' back" she answered. She took the cap off and tossed it at the patrol.

"Get back!" she yelled to the others. Roughly ten seconds later, the can exploded.

"What was that?" asked Luke to the girl.

"Nitro-9. Made it myself" answered Ace, grinning proudly.

Two of the Cybermen were on the ground, but the others got up.

"The humans are armed! Destroy them!" their leader ordered. The Cybermen fired their guns, sending blasts of blue light at the humans.

Luke tried to go for his car, only for it to be blasted.

"Get in the house!" yelled Jimmy. The others followed his advice, and got inside. Once there, Seth turned to Ace.

"Why don't you use more of that exploding stuff?" he asked, frustrated.

"I only have two left, I have to make them count, and the Cybermen would have shot me before I could toss another at them" she explained.

She ran up upstairs, followed by Summer and Seth.

They entered Summer's room, to see Ace opening the window.

"Bombs away" she muttered as she threw one of the canisters down at the firing Cybermen. They screamed in pain as it exploded around them. One pointed to the top.

"FIRE!" it yelled. The three teens dodged as blast came into the room. Ace grabbed the last canister and tossed it out of the room. The final Cybermen collapsed from the blast.

"They're not so tough" muttered Ace.

Below, one Cyberman got back up, and marched to the door. It would succeed.

- -

The Cyber-Leader turned to Caleb Nichol.

"Mr. Nichol, it is time to fulfill your end of the bargain"

"What?"

"The people of Newport see you as a leader, do they not?"

"Yes, I-I guess so" Caleb replied nervously.

"Then you shall tell them to welcome the conversion, to not fight back"

Caleb thought his heart stopped.

"What? You want me to-? I, I can't do that"

The Cyber-Leader moved closer to Caleb, facing him down.

"You SHALL do it, Mr. Nichol, or else those you want spared shall find no mercy from us"

Caleb covered his face with his hands, and sighed.

"Fine. Tell me what to do" he said, holding his head down is defeat.

"Stand there" said the Cyber-Leader pointing to a metallic square. Caleb did as he was told, and stood there as the Cybermen pressed buttons.

Caleb felt a deep light upon him. Outside, the sky was filled with an image of Caleb, as if on some giant phantom screen. In front of him, he saw words appearing.

"Citizens of Newport Beach. I know you are afraid" he began, a lump in his voice. "However, we are not being conquered. Rather, we are being liberated."

Outside, the people of Newport looked up to hear what their most prominent member was saying.

"The Cybermen have chosen us to be the first of our world to be elevated into something more. They will rid us of our weaknesses. They will take away our fear and give us strength. They will replace our weak flesh with hard steel. They shall take away hatred and give us peace throughout the world."

- -

"_They will share their knowledge with us, and help us travel to the stars"_

Sandy sighed with disgust as he looked up. So, his father-in-law was working with these monsters. Why was he not surprised?

"I understand your distress, Mr. Cohen, but may I suggest keeping your eyes on the road" said the Doctor.

"Right, sorry" replied Sandy.

"She's going to be okay, Sandy" said Ryan, trying to reassure his foster-father.

"I know, Ryan"

The car stopped. Up ahead, Cybermen were driving a herd of people.

"My God…" whispered Marissa.

Sandy stared ahead, trying to get a look at one of the prisoners, a blonde woman.

"KIRSTEN!" he yelled. He was about to drive over there when he felt a hand grab his shoulder, and he immediately felt relaxed.

"Mr. Cohen, if we want to rescue your wife, we can't do anything rash" said the Doctor.

"Right, right" replied Sandy, sounding tired.

"Now, I have a plan. We're going to walk over to the Cybermen, and join them."

The Doctor reached into his pocket, and after a moment, pulled out a roll of bandage-wrapping.

"First, we're going to have to cover my face"

- -

Seth was lying on Summer's bed, resting for the first time since…it felt like forever, he thought. He turned to his head to see Summer leaning out the window, allowing him to get a good look at her lovely posterior.

"Hey Seth, your grandpa is in the sky talking" she said.

"Summer, right now I'm trying to rest despite the fact we're being invaded by robots and I have no idea where my mom, dad and Ryan are, so I really don't need you to add any more weird shit for me to deal with" said Seth as he closed his eyes.

That was when they heard a scream.

"Come on!" ordered Ace as she rushed downstairs.

Summer followed, Seth behind her, and screamed when she saw it.

It was a Cyberman, but a damaged one. The helmet had been blown off, revealing the face of the humanoid within. A face they recognized as Holly Fisher.

"You are without weapons" she yelled, a metallic tint to her voice. "You will follow me to the conversion chamber!"

Although it was Holly, some of them didn't recognize her at first. Her skin was now tinted grey, and she was completely bald. Most disturbingly, however, were wires and electrodes connected to her flesh.

"Holly…?" whispered Luke.

"My foreign name is irreverent. I am now a member of the Cyber-Race" she replied as she approached them slowly.

"Holly, come on, we're best friends, remember? You know, before the Luke-Marissa-Tijuana thing?" said Summer. Despite the Doctor's advice, she couldn't believe there was nothing of Holly left.

"Our relationship is irreverent. You will become like us" replied Holly.

"Holly, you leave us alone and…umm, Luke will take you to the prom!" tried Seth.

Luke turned to Seth.

"What?" he whispered.

"Won't you!?" growled Seth, glaring at Luke.

"Oh, sure, yeah, Holly, it'll be great!" confirmed Luke.

Holly continued to swagger towards them.

"We'll even have Marissa make it robot themed, you'll be the hit of the ball!" added Seth desperately. But Holly kept coming towards them.

"Please, Holly…You know those shoes of mine you love, I'll give them to you!" Summer tried.

"I no longer care about such things" said Holly, with a hint of annoyance.

"Oh God, she's not being materialistic, there's really nothing of Holly left!" said a panicking Seth.

Summer suddenly thought of something. She ran upstairs.

"Halt!" yelled Holly as she aimed her gun at the girl. As she fired, Seth leaped at her, knocking her off balance. The blast just missed Summer.

Seth felt strong hands grab his body and lift him up.

"You will pay for that, human!" Holly yelled.

Seth felt his body being squeezed.

"Uh, Holly, you're touching me, Seth Cohen" Seth strained to say. "Don't you want to drop me, wash your hands?"

Luke was about to try to leap on the Cyberman when he felt Julie hold him back.

"Luke, no, you'll be killed" she said.

"Hey, Holly!" yelled a female voice. Summer rushed down the stairs, holding a container. "Get your hands off him!"

With that, Summer took off the top and hurled the container at Holly's face. She dropped Seth and screamed, as sparks flew her circuitry. Luke ran over to Seth and got him away, while Holly collapsed.

"What was that?" asked Ace.

"Something the step-monster got. It's cream with pieces of gold in it, 'make your face golden' or some shit" explained Summer. Seth ran to her.

"Oh God thank you Summer" he said as they embraced.

"Are you okay Cohen?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, fine"

Julie looked at the fallen Cyberman.

"Summer, you killed Holly" she stated.

Summer turned and thought about it.

"Huh, I guess I did"

"Do you…want to talk about it or something?" asked Seth.

"Actually, I feel a lot less guilty then I would have thought"

"Hmm, okay" said Seth.

"What do we do now?" asked Jimmy.

"We find the Doctor, and help him stop these tin cans" answered Ace.

"How do we do that?" asked Seth.

Ace thought about it for a moment.

"Were can we find chemicals?" she asked.

The Newport residents were silent for a moment.

"Uhh, the school I guess" answered Summer.

"Well, then, guess we should get going" said Ace, stepping over Holly's body to go outside.


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Chapter 20

The Cyber-Lieutenant walked up to the Cyber-Leader.

"The mission is going well. Queues 1 through 5 have been successfully converted."

"And the Doctor?"

The Cyber-Lieutenant paused.

"He has yet to be found."

The Cyber-Leader's hand tightened.

"He must be found at once! As far as he remains free, he constitutes a threat!"

Caleb Nichol, trying to ignore the screams of his fellow men, was listening to the conversation.

"How? He's just one man, isn't he?" he asked.

The Cyber-Leader walked over to the man who only a day earlier was the most powerful man in Newport.

"The Doctor is far more than one of you, Mr. Nichol! He is the single greatest threat to the continued survival of the Cyber-Race! Right from the beginning he has tried to wipe us out! It was he who destroyed our home planet Mondas, he who has thwarted our every attempt to rebuild our empire!"

The Cyber-Leader turned to look below at the conversion chamber.

"But that will end tonight. Newport is under our dominion. By morning the Doctor will either be converted or destroyed!"

- -

Ryan and Marissa held their hands tightly as they walked up to the Cybermen. One noticed them and aimed a blaster at them.

"Halt!" it ordered.

They immediately put up their hands.

"Wait! We're surrendering!" Ryan said quickly. The Cyberman lowered the weapon.

"Get in line"

As Ryan and Marissa walked towards the group, they heard the Cyberman again.

"Hold! Why does this one hide his face?"

They turned to see the Cyberman holding the Doctor, his face covered by bandages in hopes of not being recognized by the invaders.

"Uh, he got pretty hurt when the power went out" Marissa started. "You know, everyone was freaking out, and somewhat threw a broken bottle-"

"Very well" the Cyberman interrupted, satisfied. "His injuries will be repaired when he is converted."

"Uh, thanks" replied Marissa as they helped usher the Doctor with them.

Once with the terrified people, they began to search for one in particular.

"KIRSTEN!" yelled Ryan when he spotted her.

Kirsten acted shocked, as if she didn't believe he was there. Once convinced, she ran over to him and trapped him in a hug.

"Ryan, oh God, Ryan, you're okay" she moaned as she buried her head in his shoulder. Ryan felt the tears on his shirt.

"It's okay, Kirsten, everyone's okay" he said, as he patted her back. Part of him felt uncomfortable. He was reminded of comforting his own mother like this, after a date turned bad. Kirsten was different than Dawn, though. Ever since he had met her, Kirsten Cohen was powerful and in-charge, never one to break down when things gone tough. To see her like this, like…like Dawn, it disturbed him.

Marissa smiled at the site, though inside she wondered how her own mother was fairing.

- -

Julie Cooper always felt odd in Harbor High. While all the other Newpsies would reminisce about their high school years and the memories every room held for them, Julie could only smile and try to forget her high school, one much less impressive. It was an unwelcome reminder that she was not to the manor born, so to speak. Still, it didn't nearly feel as weird as this; walking in a darkened school, with her ex-husband, a new friend, two of her daughter's friends and her secret lover to go to a chemistry lab to make weapons against invading alien cyborgs.

"God, this place is creepy at night" whispered Summer.

"Yeah, I'm expecting vampires to come out" whispered Luke.

"Relax, Luke, vampire aren't real, only murderous robot-men" whispered Julie.

"Actually…" began Ace, causing them all to stare at her. "Relax, as long you have faith in something, we'll be fine"

"Why are we whispering?" asked Seth.

"Look, here's the lab" said Jimmy in a normal voice.

Seth grabbed the knob and tried to turn it.

"It's locked" he explained.

"No shit, Cohen, it's night!" commented Summer.

"Out of the way, Cohen, I'll get it open" said Luke as he brushed Seth aside.

"Fine, fine, Luke can handle the muscle, I'll just wait until we need someone with half a brain. Then, it'll be my time to shine!" Seth muttered as got out of the way.

Luke grabbed the handle and started to slam the door with his side.

"This is what you're doing, I could have done this" muttered Seth.

"Almost…got it" moaned Luke as he felt the door start to give.

Finally, the door broke down, and Luke sputtered in.

Before he could celebrate, he felt a sharp blow to his head.

- -

"Ryan?"

Ryan turned to Marissa.

"Yeah?"

"We have to do it now"

"Do what?" asked a confused Kirsten. Ryan ignored his foster-mother and reached into his pocket as he approached the Cybermen.

"Uh, hey" he began, unaccustomed to starting chats with cyborgs.

"All humans are to stay within the perimeter!" the Cyberman shouted. Ryan stuttered

"Uh, sure, but first there's something-"

The Cyberman aimed his blast at him.

"Move back!" it barked.

_Here goes nothing _thought Ryan as he tossed a small marble-like object at the Cybermen. On contact, the Cyberman sparkled with electricity, and it moaned in pain. Ryan quickly ran as the electricity spread throughout the entire troop.

"EVERYONE RUN NOW, THIS WON'T LAST LONG!" Ryan screamed as he ran towards Marissa, Kirsten and the Doctor.

"What was that?!" asked Kirsten.

"A Chelonian electric marble, made for celebrations, the electrical version of fireworks, so to speak" began the Doctor as he unwrapped his face. "A little adjustment, and its power can be used to temporarily paralyze a Cyberman's circuits"

"You, you're that guy from the coffee shop" started Kirsten.

"Halt!" yelled a metallic voice. They looked to see the Cyberman back up and recapturing people.

"Like I said, temporary" said the Doctor. "Come on, we have to go"

"The car's just over there" said Marissa to Kirsten, grabbing her hand.

As they ran, they noticed two Cyberman gaining on them.

"Jesus, they move faster than they look" muttered Marissa.

"You will halt-" the Cyberman was interrupted when a golden golf club struck it.

"Sandy!" screamed Kirsten when she saw their rescuer: her husband, wielding a golf club coated in gold, a present from her father for their anniversary, when he was trying to get Sandy into the sport.

"Kirsten, they need you!" he yelled as he struck another one. However, the gold was crumbling off the club.

"No, I'm not leaving him" she yelled when Ryan tried to drag her.

"Kirsten, I'll be okay!" yelled Sandy. Distracted, he didn't notice a Cyberman grab arm, snapping.

Ryan tried to ignore Sandy's screams, telling himself he couldn't help him now.

"Sandy!" screamed Kirsten again.

She could only watch as he was dragged away.

- -

The Cyber-Leader watched the screen, showing UNIT forces.

"How are you going to deal with them?" asked Caleb, trying to hide the joy in his voice that these terrible machine men would be defeated.

"We won't have to. They will soon have other concerns, along with the rest of your world" replied the Cyber-Leader.

"What do you mean?" asked a now-worried Caleb.

The Cyber-Leader pressed a switch, and the screen switched to somewhere very dark, and very hot. They were Cybermen walking around some giant machine.

"Where are they?" asked Caleb.

"Deep in the crust of your world. The machine you see is one we developed long ago on Mondas, back when we were forced to flee inside the planet for survival" the Cyber-Leader intoned. "It can effect the tectonics of your world, can cause great quakes"

Caleb continued to stare at it.

"We shall a great quake, one that will cover the entire planet. Your civilization will crumble instantly. Anarchy will reign through out the entire human race. Mankind will cry out for order."

"An order the Cybermen will provide."


	22. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

NOTE: Okay, this has gone on long enough. I have written 21 chapters, and yet all I have gotten is one one-sentence review written 20 chapters ago. I did not want to do this, but I want some reviews before I post more. I'm not asking for much, just a couple. I know this is being read, and it has even been favorited, so people obviously enjoy this. So, please, just review. I will keep writing, so it will be ready when I get some. I know this fic has limited appeal, and isn't going to get the hundreds of reviews of your average 'Ryan gets hurt' fic, but really.

Chapter 21

The being that was once Oliver Trask grabbed the hand of the terrified Newport citizen.

"Please, I'll give you anything you want!" she begged, tears rowing down her face. "Please, just let me go!"

He ignored her pleas. She would become like him.

He watched the smoke rise out of the conversion machine. Inside his head, computers analyzed it, giving him its temperature, composition. He smelt it, in a way. He could no longer smell like before, his nose now non-functional and covered under a steel mask at any rate. The computer now amalgamated with his brain was able to tell what it would smell like, and feed the information directly into his mind. It was like a synthetic smell.

He didn't like it. He missed real smells. He missed seeing with his real eyes.

He knew he was broken. He shouldn't have regrets about the conversion; he shouldn't feel anything. The conversion should have removed all feelings.

It removed a lot of them, certainly. He didn't feel nearly as much as he used to; he no longer obsessed over women; not Amy, not Natalie, not Marissa…most of the time.

He finished strapping the woman down. He hoped conversion would bring her more clarity than it had him.

- -

Luke felt a sharp pain at the back of his head.

"LUKE!" cried Julie.

He collapsed, and moaned. Julie rushed over to help him up.

"Luke, are you okay?"

"Other than the heaving pain in my head, yeah, I'm fine" he replied.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry, I though you were a robot, I'm so sorry-oh, you're Luke."

Summer stared at the familiar figure that attacked Luke.

"Taylor Townsend?"

Taylor stared at Summer, silent for a moment, stunned.

"Summer? You know my name?" she asked, now sounding eager and hopeful.

"Who?" asked Jimmy.

"She's on the Social Chair, with Marissa" Summer explained.

"Taylor, what are you doing here?" asked Seth.

"Well…" Taylor began, rubbing her legs together. "I was here because someone has to plan the dance next month, and I guess Marissa was too busy making out with someone from Chino or doing drugs or-"

"Taylor, her parents are right here" interrupted Summer.

"Oh" stated Taylor, suddenly silent. She turned to Julie and Jimmy. "Sorry" she said softly. "Anyway, I was here, and then there was this big rumbling and this spaceship showed up and then the sky went orange and the power went out and then these robots came and everyone was freaking out and I came in here to hide" she continued, speaking faster than most could understand. Done speaking, she started to hyperventilate. Seth went over and put his hands on her shoulder.

"It's okay, Taylor, the robots aren't here" he said.

"Whatever, we have bigger things to deal with" said Julie.

Taylor saw Ace, and turned to Seth.

"Uh, who's she?"

"Oh, that's Ace. She's British. And a time traveler."

"Oh."

She saw Ace starting to grab various chemicals and tubes.

"What's she doing now?"

"Oh, she's going to make bombs to fight the Cybermen."

"Huh?"

"Oh, that's what those robots are called"

"Oh, okay."

The two were silent for a moment.

"British schools teach how to make bombs?" asked Taylor.

"Well they drive on the wrong side of the road, I wouldn't put anything by them" replied Seth.

- -

Kirsten was just staring out the window of the car.

"He's going to be okay, Kirsten" reassured Ryan. "We all are."

He wished he believed what he was saying. He couldn't tell if Kirsten did; she showed no reaction to Ryan's words.

Marissa, currently driving the car, turned her head to Ryan, and smiled in a effort to show support.

"So, what's the plan?" asked Ryan of the Doctor. He had to focus on doing something, on ending this horrible nightmare.

"We'll go to one of the Cybermen's vaults. From there, we'll be able to reach their base."

"That's where they're keeping your 'TRADIS'?"

"TARDIS" corrected the Doctor.

"A what?" asked Ryan.

"His time machine" she explained.

Ryan started to light up.

"So, once you get it, you can go back in time and stop this from ever happening!" he concluded. Everything would go back to normal, this horrible night would have never happened. He'll be back to where his worst problem was figuring out the relationship between him and Marissa. He then realized one drawback; he and Marissa would be back to being in the same nebulous zone it had been ever since Oliver; but he was sure they figure it out.

He then realized that the Doctor was frowning.

"What's wrong? That's the plan, isn't it?" he asked.

"No" he answered.

"What? Why, if you have a time-?"

"Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. Changing history is not something to be trifled with, and should only be done in the gravest of circumstances" he said, annoyed.

"And this isn't?!" Ryan shouted, angry at the Doctor's seemingly callous attitude. He was reminded of all the times he felt like he wasn't important enough, all the people he knew whose problems were ignored because of who they were. He wasn't going to let everyone he knew die because some alien jackass didn't try everything.

"These Cybermen want to turn everyone on the planet into things like them, and that isn't important enough for you!?"

The Doctor's features sharpened, and he turned to face Ryan directly, a look of annoyance on his face.

"No. It isn't" he said simply.

"Why the hell not?" Ryan demanded.

The Doctor sighed in frustration. "The Web of Time is delicate. If everyone who had a time machine tried to change history to suit their purposes, the damage would be immense. The web would break and the universe would devolve into chaos. My people are arrogant, but they made rules regarding time control for a reason. Now, I will do everything in my power to stop them, but I will not break my vows as a Time Lord"

Ryan was silent, but continued to glare at the Doctor.

"So, what is the plan then?" asked Marissa, trying to diffuse the tension.

"Most of the Cybermen will be in the conversion chamber. I imagine only a few will be down in the basement, which will allow us to mess with their equipment. I probably won't be able to do much, but I should be able to disable the conversion chamber for a time."

"And then?" asked Ryan.

"I'll tell you then. It'll be a surprise" said the Doctor, as if it were a perfectly reasonable reply.

Marissa sighed. She'd had enough surprises to last a lifetime.

- -

Summer sat down next to Seth.

"You okay?" she asked softly.

"Yeah, I guess. I think this is a dream" Seth replied.

"It isn't a dream"

"How would you know? Do people in dreams know they're not real?"

"Maybe it's my dream" muttered Summer as she slid down.

"Oh, so you dream about me?" said Seth sporting a grin.

"Yeah, Cohen, we're hiding out in a school from robots talking about dreams, that's real hot-and-heavy stuff" replied Summer, grinning as well.

"Okay, now I need some gold" announced Ace, working over some Bunsen burners.

"Is there any in the school?" asked Jimmy.

Seth's grin grew wider.

"The trophy case!"

Luke's mouth dropped.

"What? No, no, we are not melting down-"

"Oh for God's sake, Luke, suck it up and get them" interrupted an exhausted Julie.

Luke lowered his head and walked out, followed by Seth very happy to see the destruction of the awards his tormenters treasured.

Unknown to all, they were all being observed.

"There are a number of humans hiding in the building" reported one of the Cybermen, looking through x-ray eyes.

"We will apprehend them" its leader announced.


	23. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

NOTES: Thank you, Brooklyn2, for the review. I do hope that fans of either Doctor Who and the OC can enjoy it, as I'm trying to put enough stuff in for both. For the rest of you, I do want more reviews, and will require more before posting additional chapters.

Chapter 22

Sandy slowly regained consciousness as he felt the warm air of the conversion chamber. He winced as he felt the pain of his arm, twisted by a Cyberman.

He opened his eyes to see people forced into lines. It was weird to see the rich of Newport, usually so unbearably arrogant, with their faces full of fear.

The Cybermen dropped Sandy to the floor. He moaned, as a couple he didn't recognize went over to help him.

"Sandy Cohen?" the woman asked.

"Yeah" he answered, sounding more like a guttural sound than a word.

"What the hell's going on!" demanded the male, grabbing him by the shoulders.

"How should I know!?" Sandy angrily replied. He wasn't in the mood to deal with these people.

"Your father-in-law is working with them!" explained the man.

"Probably why I'm here" Sandy muttered while he struggled to stand. He then winced as he heard an ear piecing scream from inside the vast machine they were in line for.

"You'll get used to the screams" the man muttered. "Whether you want to or not."

High above, Caleb's face turned to horror when he saw Sandy. Up until now, none of the people transformed were ones he knew personally.

He went to the back, not wanting to see the look of his son-in-law if he saw him. Perhaps it was because after all this time, he had proven Sandy right about him. He was a small, evil man, who had betrayed the human race.

He then went over to the Cyber-Leader.

"I want to change the deal!" he yelled.

The Cyber-Leader turned to him. "What?"

"That man down there, he's my son-in-law. I want him to be saved too" explained Caleb, now a lot less confident.

"Your terms are not accepted" replied the Cyber-Leader, clearly uninterested in the matter.

"No, the deal is that my family will be spared, and he's a member of my family!"

"We will spare you, your daughter and grandson, no more. Persist in this further, and they will loose their protection as well"

Caleb had never wanted to punch someone so much in his life. But he knew that all it would accomplish was to doom Kirsten and Seth. Instead, he timidly turned away.

- -

"Jesus, Cohen, you couldn't take more than one?" asked Luke.

"Hey, you're the athletic one. I just came to make sure you actually got the trophies" replied Seth, carrying only one trophy.

Luke just muttered something under his breath.

"There you guys are!" yelled Summer, walking up to them. "What took so long?"

"Luke here couldn't bear to part with his beloved trophies" explained Seth. Luke glared at him.

"It's because carrying this many trophies tends to slow you done. I don't know what your boyfriend's excuse is"

"Hey, I-"

They heard glass breaking.

"All humans are to show themselves!"

The color drained from the three teens' faces.

"You will report to the conversion chamber! You will be like us!"

Seth stood still for a moment, before handing his trophy to Summer.

"Cohen, what the hell?"

"Get these back. I'm going to distract them"

"What?" said Summer and Luke at the same time.

"I know, I'm surprised too" replied Seth, before he ran out.

"Hey, Cybermen, I'm right here" he yelled. Summer turned to Luke.

"Give me your trophies?"

"What?"

"I'll take them back. You're going to make sure Cohen doesn't get himself killed" she said. It was an order, not a request. Luke sighed, and handed over most of the trophies.

"I'll keep some, for them" explained Luke, before heading off to join Seth.

- -

The Doctor walked up to the door, followed by Ryan, Marissa and Kirsten. Kirsten then awkwardly walked up to it, still nervous.

"All right, this should work…" she announced softly. She pressed in some numbers, and the door slid open.

"Excellent work, Mrs. Cohen. Now, let's sabotage this shall we?" said the Doctor as he calmly walked inside. The others followed him, and were amazed at what they saw.

It was a lab, but it looked to be one from some sort of science fiction movie. The room was filled with a low humming sound, and a ticking. The walls were covered with what appeared to be tiles, most of which were changing color from red to blue to green and back again. Others, though, showed footage of various parts of Newport, showing its citizens rounded up.

"Very impressive, I know" said the Doctor, who alone seemed to be unfazed by the level of technology. He walked over to a console, and started typing and pressing buttons.

"So, you understand this stuff?" asked Marissa.

"Of course" replied the Doctor confidently.

The room then suddenly went red.

"INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT!" cried a voice. The three looked at the Doctor with horrified faces.

"Well, I suppose I could be a little rusty…"

- -

Seth and Luke rushed into the library. Luke grabbed a chair and put in front of the doors.

"Yeah, Luke, that's really going to stop the robot monsters with the strength of ten men" Seth quipped.

"Cohen, how about a little less sarcasm and a little more help" snapped a frustrated Luke.

"You want help, come on, let's hide."

"That's your suggestion? Hiding?"

"I've had a lot of practice at it, thanks to you and your water polo buddies."

Luke sighed, and followed Seth to the back of the library. Just as they hid behind a bookcase, silver hands ripped apart the doors.

"Show yourselves humans!" ordered the leader.

Luke and Seth remained tense.

"See how much fun hiding is, Luke?" whispered Seth.

"Okay, Cohen, yes, I see the irony, can't it wait!?" replied Luke sharply.

"I just wanted to-"

"Voices are originating from other end of room" announced one of the Cybermen.

Luke glared at Seth.

"Sorry" Seth said sheepishly.

- -

"What do we do?" asked Ryan, as the room continued to glow in red.

"Well, I imagine we get ready for the guard dogs" replied the Doctor.

"Guard dogs?" asked Marissa.

All of a sudden two of the tiles on the wall slid up, revealing an empty case behind them. Empty, that is, expect for two robotic creatures.

They appeared to be based on spiders, but were much bigger, the size of about a cocker spaniel. They were a dark grey in color, save for two bright red dots that served as eyes. The ends of their legs, meanwhile, looked to as sharp as knifes.

"Well, not dogs, but the principal is the same" explained the Doctor.

The two spiders emitted a hissing sound, and leapt up at the intruders. The Doctor grabbed his umbrella and swung it, knocking one away.

The other leapt at Ryan, who put up his bandaged hand to defend himself. It claws dug in, making him scream.

"Ryan!" screamed Marissa, who grabbed the spider and pulled it away. One of its claws scrapped her cheek, cutting it, before she threw it across the room.

The two spiders scampered across the room back to them, eager for a second attack.

- -

Seth peaked through the bookcases at the Cybermen.

"So, hiding didn't work, what we do now?" asked Luke.

"Well, we use those trophies" answered Seth.

"There's four of them, they'll shoot us first" said Luke.

Seth thought for a moment, then stared at the book case.

"I hope this works as well as in the movies" he muttered, before motioning for Luke to help him push it.

After some time, the book case fell, and like dominoes, the rest fell, the last falling on the Cybermen.

Luke and Seth ran out, to see the book covered Cybermen lying on the floor.

"Yeah!" yelled Seth, pounding the air. "That's how we do it in the OC, bit-"

A Cyberman leapt out of the pile and grabbed Seth's neck.

- -

"How do we stop them?" asked Kirsten, as they watched the approaching spiders.

The Doctor thought for a moment.

"A fire extinguisher!" he exclaimed suddenly.

"What?" asked Marissa.

"Its foam will clog its circuits, and I doubt the cold temperature will help them either" explained the Doctor.

"Okay, let's go find one" said Ryan, as he and Marissa turned back to look for one.

Meanwhile, one of the spiders launched itself at the Doctor's leg. He moaned and his face turned in pain. Kirsten grabbed the Doctor's umbrella and started to bash the spider with it.

- -

Seth struggled under the grasp of the Cyberman.

"Why did you humans fight so hard against this? Why do you not accept our gifts!?" it growled.

"You know, for an unemotional race, you guys really get testy" Seth spat out.

Seth then heard a canister drop on the ground, followed by an explosion. The library was then covered in falling gold dust. The Cyberman holding Seth started to choke, and Seth managed to break out of its grasp.

Summer ran over to him, and with Luke's help dragged him out.

"What was that?" asked Luke.

"Glitter bomb" said Ace, clearly proud of her creation.

"A what?"

"The Professor told me that when humans and Cybermen went, er, will go, I guess, to war, we created a 'glitter gun,' that fired gold dust to cloud their circuits up. So, I just worked on a similar theme" she explained.

Seth stopped coughing, and got up.

"So, what now?" he asked.

"We go their base, and stop them" answered Ace.


	24. Author's Note 1010

I have completed Chapter 23

I have completed Chapters 23, 24 and 25. I will put them up when I receive some more reviews. Come on, people, only 2 reviews? I know this fic is kinda a niche thing, but obviously people are reading it, I look at my stats. Come on, Saudi Arabian guy, what do you think?


	25. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Sandy was sitting down, trying to think of what to do, how he could stop this.

"It will be okay, Sandy" a deep electronic voice told him.

Sandy looked up at the Cyberman.

"How'd you know my name? Did Cal tell you?" he asked, his voice filled with venom at the name of his father-in-law.

"We work together, Sandy. When you are converted, we will do so again" the Cyberman explained calmly, as if talking to a small child.

"Who are you?" Sandy asked point-blank.

"I'm Rachel, Sandy. Rachel Hoffman"

Sandy was speechless.

"No, you're lying. You could be anyone under that-"

"We met at Berkeley, Sandy. I was a friend of Rebecca's. She tried to set us up, before you two started dating."

Sandy couldn't believe it. It was true. One of his friends had become of these monsters. He thanked God Kirsten and Ryan were safe. Then he remembered Seth…No, he couldn't think like that.

"Rachel…God, Rachel, what have they done to you?"

"They have improved me, Sandy, as they will the entire human race. I was scared of the conversion as well. Now, I will never fear anything ever again."

"_Improved_ you!? Rachel, you, these people…you all look the same, you talk the same, this is everything we ever fought against!"

"Individuality is a luxury we can not afford. Individuals cause conflict, war. With the Cybermen, everyone will be equal. On the contrary, Sandy, this is everything we have fought for."

Sandy just stared at her.

"You honestly believe that" he whispered, horrified.

"Things will be clearer when you undergo the conversion, Sandy. You will understand that the Cybermen are not our conquerors; they are our saviors."

- -

Ryan and Marissa again looked around the lab, searching for anything that looked remotely like a fire extinguisher.

"Jesus, we have to do something, I don't know how much longer they can hold out" moaned Ryan, referring to the Doctor and Kirsten, who were trying to occupy two dog-sized mechanical spiders, designed by the Cybermen to defend against intrusions.

The tensions raised more when they heard a scampering noise.

"Oh God" whispered Marissa.

"Come on, there's got to be something that we can use" Ryan muttered as he looked around.

"Here" said Marissa, seeing a pipe on the wall. She pulled on it, and it loosened, but didn't break.

"Here, let me" said Ryan as he pulled, all the while the noise getting louder and closer.

"Got it" Ryan moaned out when it snapped, falling back. There was a shrill cry, and the spider leapt out, only to be hit by the pipe.

"Come on, Ryan, get up" she said, holding her hand up.

"Where'd you learn to hit like that?"

"Tennis" replied Marissa, still holding it up, ready to use it again at any moment.

"Well, that made for a change" said Ryan, grinning.

"What did?"

"You saved my life for once."

Marissa frowned.

"First? What about Thanksgiving?"

"That wouldn't have killed me"

"Beating you with a crowbar wouldn't have killed you?"

"I'm tough" shrugged Ryan.

"Okay, fine, I saved your ability to read. But if we're only counting life-endangerment, then only Tijuana counts"

The spider leapt again, and Marissa swung at it again.

"What? What about Oliver's?"

"He wasn't going to kill me; he was going to kill himself"

"Then why did you call me?"

"Well, I didn't know that at the _time_!"

Marissa ran over to the fallen spider and started to hit it again and again. The outer shell cracked, and sparks flew out.

"I think you got it" Ryan told Marissa, who continued to pummel it.

"Marissa!"

"WHAT!?" she snapped, before calming down. "Sorry. I told you I had rage issues."

"What are you doing" they heard, and saw the Doctor walked towards them, followed by Kirsten.

"We were looking for a fire extinguisher like you said, but we couldn't-"

The Doctor walked over to a console, and lifted out of it a cylinder. Inside was a strange looking device.

A spider leapt up from behind. The Doctor casually turned and sprayed it with a white mist. The spider fell to the ground and shattered into a hundred pieces.

"Your species can be so dense at times" he muttered.

- -

Caleb marched into the Cyber-Leader's face with an angry glare.

"You sons of bitches!"

"What is the matter now, Mr. Nichol?" asked the Cyber-Leader with a bored tone.

"I saw the footage from the lab. Kirsten was done there!"

"And?"

Caleb was even more furious.

"_And_ what!? You were trying to kill her!"

The Cyber-Leader ignored him and turned to one of the other Cybermen.

"I believe Mr. Nichol has outlasted his usefulness."

Caleb's blood went cold.

"What? No, we had a deal…" he stuttered.

The Cyber-Leader didn't even look at him.

This time, Caleb didn't pull his punches.

"You son of a bitch, we have a deal!"

He threw his fist, only for the Cyber-Leader to catch it. Caleb tried to pull out the fist, but the Cyber-Leader didn't bulge. Then, his hand began to feel crushed. His face twisted in pain.

"Cybermen did not honor promises made to lesser beings!" the Cyber-Leader said sternly.

Caleb looked down, and saw blood dripping down from his fist caught in the Cyber-Leader's. The pain was enormous.

"Please…let, let go" he pleaded.

The Cyber-Leader gave one further squeeze, then let go. Caleb fell to the floor, and cradled his bloody hand.

Lesser being. That was what the Cyber-Leader had called him. And that was what he was, he realized. All his time as the 'King of Newport Beach,' he was just denying his true nature. He was always small; the Cybermen just reminded him.

- -

The Doctor continued to type at the console.

"How's it going?" asked Ryan.

"Good. I think…" replied the Doctor.

- -

Sandy futilely struggled as he was dragged to the Conversion Chamber.

"Let me go you bastards! I don't want to be like you!"

The Cybermen ignored him as they strapped him down.

- -

"I think I almost got it…" said the Doctor.

- -

Sandy was now naked, some sort of liquid having disposed of his clothes and body hair.

He looked as devices came down at him…

- -

"Got it!"

- -

"What has happened!" yelled the Cyber-Leader. "Why has the conversion chamber stalled?"

"Someone has broken into our system" explained a Cyberman. "It will be repaired shortly."

"How many were inside at the time?"

"Four. However, we were able to finish the conversion of them by hand, though one of them misses a mask."

"Let me inspect him" the Cyber-Leader ordered. In a short time, a Cyberman, complete save for no mask.

"He will do well enough" the Cyber-Leader decided.

The being that was once Sandy Cohen was pleased he met his Leader's approval. Rachel had been right. The conversion had made everything clearer.


	26. Chapter 24

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, I'm putting up another chapter because I didn't want to put just an Author's Note up. However, I still want more reviews. I'm sorry, but I've only gotten reviews when I do this. So, I want 5 more reviews before continuing to put up more chapters, two of which I've already completed.

Chapter 24

"So, what now?" asked Ryan.

"Well, it will take some time for the Cybermen to repair the conversion chamber, at least a few hours."

"So, we stop them before they can"

"Exactly" replied the Doctor.

"Uh huh" said Ryan. "How the hell do we do that?"

"Now, now, strength doesn't mean everything. If it did, I would have died long ago."

"Oh. That's…great" muttered Marissa.

"First, I'm going to contact Ace" said the Doctor, ignoring her comment.

"How? Ever since that shield went up, the phones don't work" pointed out Kirsten.

"I'm taking care of that right now" said the Doctor, as he typed on the console more.

"There. Try calling now."

- -

Julie was surprised when she heard a beep.

"What's that?" asked Ace.

"My phone. It's working again"

"Well, answer it!" said Seth.

"All right, all right, jeez" said Julie as she pulled it out.

"Hello? MARISSA! Oh God, honey, are you all right?"

"Its Marissa?" asked Summer.

"Ask her about my parents! And Ryan" cut in Seth.

"Okay, everyone shut up!" yelled Julie, determined to gain control over the situation. "Marissa, are you okay?"

"_I'm fine, mom, we all are. Listen, the Doctor needs to talk to Ace."_

Julie handed the phone over to Ace.

"Professor?"

"_Ace, you know that Nitro-9 you're not carrying?"_

"Yeah?"

"_Listen, I've shut down the conversion chamber, the Cybermen have no way to convert the populace. I think an uprising could be in the works"_

"Gotcha, Professor."

"_That's my girl. Oh, hold on, Mrs. Cohen wants to talk to know about her son."_

Seth grabbed the phone from Ace.

"Mom?"

"_Oh God, Seth, thank God you're all right" _he heard his mother cry out.

"I am, mom, I am" replied Seth, his eyes tearing as well. "Mom? Mom, where's dad? I want to talk to him"

There was silence on the phone, followed by a burst of tears from his father.

"_Seth?"_

"Ryan? Ryan, where's my dad? Is something wrong?"

He heard Ryan sigh.

"_Seth, Sandy is…they got him"_

"What?"

"_The Cybermen. They captured him. He distracted them, allowed us to get away."_

"WHAT? Oh God, oh God!"

"_Seth! Don't worry. Sandy's going to be okay, we'll get him back. The conversion chamber is down, and we're going to make sure it stays that way."_

Seth started to calm down.

"You-your promise?"

"_Yes, Seth, I promise."_

- -

"Sandy?"

The Cyberman formerly known as Sandy Cohen looked down at the balding man.

"Sandy, oh God, what have they done?"

"You are Caleb Nichol" stated Sandy. Caleb flinched at the voice. It was Sandy's, yes, but it was covered with a thick metallic coat.

"Yes, yes. Listen, where's Kirsten and Seth?" asked Caleb, whispering and looking to see if other Cybermen were looking at them.

"Kirsten Cohen is in the basement with the Doctor. She will be dealt with shortly. The location of your grandson is unknown."

"My grandson, what…Sandy, they're your family, how could you talk like that!?"

"My former relationship with your family is now irreverent. The Cybermen are my new family, and they will be joining it soon."

Caleb was horrified.

"How could you-Sandy, we don't like each other, we've never kidded ourselves about that, but I always knew you loved Kirsten, and you would never let anything to her or Seth."

"And I am not. When converted, they will become stronger, live longer, and be free of all emotions."

"Free of all- Good God. You actually believe that, don't you? You believe that would help them. Dear God, this is all my fault. How could I have been such a fool…?"

"You took the logical course of action, as you always have, Mr. Nichol. You were right all along."

"Right? Right about what?"

"I was wasting my potential. I turned down power and influence to help the poor and weak. You always told me I was wasting my time."

"But you never listened. You were so god damn arrogant…" Caleb sighed wistfully.

"Forgive me, Sandy. Forgive me for what I did to you."

"There is nothing to forgive" replied Sandy, as he turned away.

"Yell at me, then. Say you were right all along, say that I've betrayed the human race, just react, damnit!" Caleb screamed. But Sandy just marched away.

- -

If anything, the fact that the line was no longer moving was scaring the people of Newport more.

"What's going on? Why did we stop?" asked Alex Kelly, to the Cyberman that was overseeing her and the others from the Bait Shop.

"Do not ask questions, all is under control!" it intoned.

Alex sighed. She wasn't going to get any answers out of these guys. She looked at the building, that the silver giants called the 'Conversion Chamber.' At least there wasn't any screaming coming from it anymore.

She jolted when someone threw a canister in the center of the Cybermen.

"Who threw this?! What is it!?" demanded one of the Cybermen. Before he could be answered, the canister exploded, and a huge dust cloud appeared over them.

Alex covered her mouth and ran, but then noticed the Cybermen coughing, and falling to the ground.

"Everyone, you can fight back!" she heard a female British voice yell. "They're vulnerable to gold!"

Alex didn't pay much attention to what she said, and she didn't have any gold in any case: then she saw someone throwing a gold necklace at a Cyberman. The Cyberman yelled, fell to the ground, as sparks flew off the body.

"Here" some curly-haired kid said as he handed her a rod coated in gold.

"Thanks" she said.

- -

"Sir, the humans outside are fighting back. They are using gold!" reported a Cyberman.

"This is the Doctor's doing" said the Cyber-Leader. "Bring him to me!"

"He has disappeared" said the Cyber-Lieutenant.

"What? He was in the basement lab just-"

"I know, sir, but he has vanished, along with the humans accompanying him"

- -

The air was filled with gold and sparks. The people of Newport fought back, many of them struggling for survival for the first time in their lives.

They fought with their wealth, appropriately. Golden trinkets, bought as objects of affection or displays of wealth, became weapons. Necklaces, bracelets, rings: all were being thrown. Some used the weapons supplied by Ace. One man rode on a segway, golden dust thrown from his sleeves at the silver invaders.

In any case, the people of Newport were feeling something they hadn't since this whole thing began. Hope.

- -

"Our forces are weakening" reported the Cyber-Lieutenant.

The Cyber-Leader thought, then spoke.

"We do not need all of Newport of converted; lethal force is authorize."

The Cyber-Lieutenant went to report the new order.

"Because the Doctor will show himself," said the Cyber-Leader, "when his precious humans start dying."

- -

We're winning, thought the people of Newport. They were showing these robots who they were dealing with.

Then, they brought out the blasters. Instantly, people started to die. The insides of their bodies twisted before they were able to do anything back.

"What's going on?" asked Summer.

"I don't know" replied Ace. The two froze as Cybermen aimed blasters at them.

- -

The Cyber-Leader looked down at the children who had started the short-lived rebellion against them.

"You are the companions of the Doctor!" said the Cyber-Leader.

"Actually, just me, they're just friends" replied Ace.

"Irreverent. The Doctor has failed. This is only a delay. Your world will be converted."

"How many times have I heard that before?"

Everyone looked up.

"You…" growled the Cyber-Leader.

"Yes. Me"

It was the man who walked in Eternity. The Oncoming Storm.

"Your plans have failed as always, Cyber-Leader."

Time's Champion. The Ka Furaq Gatri. The man the monsters had nightmares about.

"And I've come to stop you."

The Doctor had arrived.


	27. Chapter 25

AUTHOR'S NOTE: All right, fine. I realized I would rather just post and finish the story, and I guess I'm not going to get any reviews anyhow, so I'm just going to finish the story.

Chapter 25

The Cyber-Leader stared at the Doctor.

"Newport is controlled by the Cybermen" it started. "Our force field prevents any of your human allies from entering."

"You are separated from your TARDIS, and we hold your companion captive" it gestured to Ace.

"You hold no weapons, no chance of rescue, nothing" it concluded. "And yet you claim victory?"

"Only a Time Lord could be so arrogant"

"Oh, I'm far more than just a Time Lord" replied the Doctor. "And your people aren't the most modest race either."

"Prattle on while you can, Doctor" interrupted the Cyber-Leader. "Once you are converted, you will loose that, amongst other of your annoying traits."

"Oh, come now, people love my prattling. And you've been trying to convert me for a long time. What makes this time different?"

"We will no longer fall for your tricks, Doctor. Your days of travel are over. Henceforth, you will serve the Cybermen!"

- -

Caleb kept his head down as he followed the Cyber-Lieutenant.

"Where are you taking me?" he asked.

"You will be held in the back until the conversion chamber is back on-line."

"And when it is?"

"You will become like us."

Caleb sighed. He was ready for it. Hell, he deserved it. He always wondered how history would remember him: well, now he knew. Caleb Nichol: the man who betrayed the human race.

- -

"Why do you keep fighting against us, Doctor?"

"You're a race of scavengers, who take people and mutilate them to fill out your ranks."

"We help them; the people of this world are illogical, their minds clouded; we clear them."

"Even if they don't want to?"

"Children are forced to get vaccinated, take medicine even when they do not want to. And believe us, Doctor, the people of Earth are children. This is for their own good"

"Oh, so you're doing them a favor? Is that your new excuse, it's your duty? The 'Cyberman's Burden,' as it were?"

"Mock all you like, Doctor, but you can ask any Cyberman. They all prefer their new life to their chaotic old one."

"Yes, I'm sure I would think simpler too if you drilled into my skull."

"It is unfortunate, perhaps, that it must be down this way. However, surely you agree it is preferable to the alternative?"

"What would that alternative be?"

"The destruction and chaos inherent in living by emotions. Think of a universe entirely converted by the Cybermen."

"I try not to; it sickens me."

"It sickens you? A universe of peace of harmony, where everyone is treated equally, with no war, no violence, no sickness-"

"No love? No art? No expression? No laughing, crying, a universe where no one wonders, no one aspires, where you simply do what you're told, where the only point of existence is to simply exist, where everything is just a cold, barren, zone? Yes, it does sicken me!"

- -

Caleb listened to the echoes of the argument between the Doctor and the Cyber-Leader. He listened to the Doctor describe the world as the Cybermen would have it; a cold, barren, grey zone. And something in him snapped. The old Caleb Nichol, the one who never went down quietly, the shrewd businessman who ruled over Newport like a king, started to emerge.

He looked down at his finger, and the golden ring. A constant reminder of Rose, his beloved. He had been considering it ever since he found out about the Cybermen's weakness to gold. He thought about what his wife would think if he destroyed it; then he thought of what she would think if he stood by and did nothing when these things tried to mutilate her daughter and grandson.

"Here goes nothing" he muttered under his breath.

He quickly turned around and punched the Cyber-Lieutenant. His hand hurt like hell, but the ring made its mark. It cried out, and Caleb ran like hell, planning his next move.

- -

"I'm curious, why did you choose Newport to start your invasion? Most races prefer to start with Britain, for whatever reason" asked the Doctor.

"What better example of why this world needs conversion? This people are amongst the wealthiest in their world, and yet do they use their wealth to help others? No. They spend it on clothes and trinkets and other extravagancies. Meanwhile, all around the world their fellow humans starve. They are parasites, Doctor; in truth, how are they different from the Great Vampires, a race your people went on a crusade to destroy?"

The Doctor was silent for a moment, and seemed to contemplate the question. Finally, he raised his head.

"Yes, they are. Yes, they have their faults; but I've seen potential in them; they can grow, they can change; and they're individuals. And individuals are necessary for any society."

"Individuals cause chaos; different views cause conflict and violence."

"Yes, different views are so difficult; better to not waste time understanding them, just put everybody in a big machine and make them the same!"

- -

The Cyberman that was once Sandy Cohen stood by, blaster in hand.

"Why do we not capture the Doctor now?" he asked.

"We await the Leader's orders" another replied.

Sandy noticed one Cyberman looking at him.

"Why do you stare?" he asked.

"You are Sandy Cohen" it stated.

"What of it?"

"I am Oliver Trask."

"What is the significance?"

"I…when I was caught with drugs, you helped me evade prison."

"Whatever our relationship pre-conversion does not matter" replied Sandy.

"I know, I just…"

"Are you malfunctioned?"

"What? No, I-"

"Then why do you persist in these meaningless pratter?"

Oliver did not have an answer for that.

- -

"What you think of us is unimportant, Doctor. We will emerge triumphant. We will contact the Cybermen native to this time, and upgrade them to our level. The new Cyber-Empire will swarm across the galaxy, crushing all in our path! The Draconians, the Sontarans, the Daleks….they will all fall before us! Soon, even your people will not be safe, Doctor! We will storm Gallifrey, and become the new Lords of Time!"

"My planet has weathered attacks before."

"This one will be different, Doctor. You will lead us!"

The Doctor's eyes widened. "What?"

"You possess one of the most brilliant minds in the universe; you will make an excellent Cyber-Controller."

"I would rather loose all my remaining lives…"

"You will benefit as well, Doctor. Your emotions has always been your downfall; we will remove it"

"Downfall? When? Because I seem to remember defeating you in our every encounter."

The Cyber-Leader's fist tightened.

"Now, when was this downfall of mine? It wasn't when I stopped you back in 1970; it wasn't when I assisted the Agorans in overthrowing your rule; it wasn't on Planet 14, no; wasn't in 1986, because I distinctly remember Mondas blowing up; oh, now I remember, I failed in stopping you from blowing up Vogas, no, wait, I won there, too. Tell me, when _did_ you win?"

The Cyber-Leader released his fist.

"I notice you did not mention when you prevented us from destroying the Earth in 26th century; why is that?"

The Doctor lowered his eyes.

"The people you surround yourself with; you convinced them you will save all of them."

The Doctor turned away.

"Tell them of young…Adric, was it not? Tell them how you saved him."

The Doctor did not reply.

"Accuse us all you want, Doctor; we are the ones hiding behind children."

He turned back and looked at his troops.

"Capture the Doctor; he will be like us!"


	28. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

"Capture the Doctor! He will be like us" roared the Cyber-Leader.

The Doctor merely smiled, and pulled out a device. He pressed a button, and the room suddenly went dark.

"Come on" the Doctor said to Ryan, Marissa and Kirsten. "This won't last long."

"What now?" asked Ryan.

"First, we go down and get Ace."

They walked down, narrowly avoiding Cyber-troops.

"Do you think they'll be all right?" asked Marissa as they arrived at the floor level.

They looked to see Ace putting a golden rod through a Cyberman.

"I believe so" answered the Doctor.

"Professor!" cried Ace when she saw him.

"Ace, good job on the insurrection" said the Doctor as he patted her on the back.

"But if failed"

"Yes, but it bought us some time"

The Doctor looked over at the Newport natives and greeted them.

"Ah, yes, Mrs. Cooper, Seth…and you are….?"

"Uh, Luke, Luke Ward."

"Ah, I once knew a Luke Ward, back in the 1820s."

Luke was slightly taken aback at this. "Ah, maybe we're related."

"Possibly. Tell me, do you have any tree in your family?"

"Doctor, what do we do now?" asked Marissa, leaving Luke to wonder what the Doctor's question met.

"We have to deactivate the shield. If we do that, reinforcements will come, and the Cybermen will be defeated."

"Great, how do we do that?" asked Seth.

The Doctor put his fingers on his chin.

"We'll have to get into the control room. Up there" he said, pointing above.

"What about Sandy?" cried out Kirsten.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Cohen, but we have no time to look for him, we need to shut down the field as soon as possible" the Doctor said sternly.

Kirsten's eyes became watery. This was all too much for her.

"But…no, we…I need him…" she sputtered.

Julie went over and let Kirsten kneel on her.

"Don't worry, Kiki, I'll stay here and help you look for him" she soothed.

"Don't….don't call me 'Kiki'" Kirsten managed to say between tears.

"You realize you how dangerous that is?" the Doctor asked.

"Have you been paying attention, anything is dangerous right now" Julie replied sharply.

The Doctor only nodded.

"I'll stay with them" announced Luke.

"Me too" added Taylor.

"Very well. The rest of you, come on. We have work to do."

- -

Caleb felt the steps of the approaching Cyber-Lieutenant.

"You can not hide, Nichol! I am your superior in every respect, from intelligence to strength!"

_Just come closer, you metal bastard._

Caleb hadn't needed to actually fight in a long time. In his business dealings, things could usually be settled peacefully. And when they couldn't, well, that was what hired thugs were for.

Still, in the last few minutes, the knowledge of fighting someone one-on-one was coming back to him. It was just like riding a bicycle, he supposed. Or in this case, beating someone with a bicycle.

"You will be converted, Mr. Nichol; accept it" the Cyber-Lieutenant intoned.

What he had planned was crazy, he knew. The Cyberman was right about one thing: it was definitely stronger than any human. Caleb had a crushed hand to prove that. But he had learned many fighting techniques over the years; one of those was judo, which turned the strength of your opponent against them. Of course, he doubted its creators ever thought about the opponent having ten times your strength.

Well, it was too late to come up with a different plan now; the Cyber-Lieutenant was just about to pass him. He jumped out just a few feet away; as Caleb hoped, it put out its arms to catch him. Instead, he grabbed them and lifted the silver giant over him, and slammed it into the ground.

"AUUUGH" cried out the Cyber-Lieutenant.

Caleb quickly moved and grabbed the Cyberman's blaster. As he tried to lift, however, he felt a familiar cold hand on him.

"You will not succeed, human!" the Cyber-Lieutenant cried out.

Caleb tried to pull free of it, but it wouldn't let go. Using his crunched hand, he started to pull on the handle, and felt the blaster start to power up.

"You will beg to-" the Cyber-Lieutenant was interrupted when the blast threw it back. Caleb winced, as it twisted his arm before letting go. He kneeled down to the blaster, and tried to pick it up. Giving that one of his hands was crushed, and his other arm was twisted, this was not the easy task it would be normally.

Slowly, he cradled the blaster, silently moaning. He then dropped it, when he felt a hard blow to his head.

The Cyber-Lieutenant grabbed Caleb by the face, and lifted him up to the air. Caleb lifted his twisted arm and, using all his strength, striked the robotic fiend with his ring-wielding fist.

He was dropped like a stone, and immediately grabbed the blaster. Turning around, he blasted the lurching Cyber-Lieutenant right in the torso. He fired twice more, and rolled away just in time to avoid being crushed by fallen cyborg.

He dragged himself up, and lifted the gun up. One down…

- -

As they climbed the stairs further up, getting closer to the control room, the Doctor contemplated the Cyber-Leader's taunt.

"_Tell them of young…Adric, was it not? Tell them how you saved him."_

Adric. It had happened so long ago; since then he'd regenerated twice, and gained numerous more companions, but still it stung. And why shouldn't it? He had failed him.

It wasn't the first, or the last time someone under his protection had died. There was Katarina, who made the ultimate sacrifice in a conflict she couldn't have understood; soon after that came the death of Sara, who was artificially aged to dust while saving the Doctor from the Daleks' Time Destructor; and Kamelion, who preferred to die free than continue to exist as a tool of the Master.

Then there was Joseph, Gus…each one weighed heavily on his hearts. And the worst part was, deep down, he knew it would happen again eventually. Perhaps it would be Ace; perhaps the next one, or the one after that; maybe it won't be until his next incarnation; but it would happen again.

And yet he wouldn't stop; he would continue to invite people to travel with him, to share his dangerous life; it was selfish, perhaps, but he needed them, to keep him from becoming above it all, from being like the rest of his people.

"Hey, we're here" said Summer, snapping the Doctor out of his thoughts.

"Excellent" the Doctor replied while walking up in front of them, and he opened the door.

On the other side were two Cybermen.

- -

For what seemed to be the hundredth time, Caleb shook his head. Ever since the fight with the Cyber-Lieutenant, he'd been having trouble concentrating. He probably had a concussion, he'd realized. Still, he doubted any of Newport hospitals were in a condition to admit him, and didn't have any time for that.

He went up to the door. He had seen the Cybermen put their explosives in it. He stared at the access button, and tried to recall the code for it. 011585-, no it was 86-wait, did it begin with a 2, or a 0-

Ah, fuck it, he decided, and blasted the door open.

- -

To anyone watching, the decision was made in a fraction of a second.

To Oliver Trask, it felt like an eternity.

His orders were to kill her and the others, and apprehend the Doctor.

But he didn't want to.

YOU WILL OBEY YOUR ORDERS, KILL THE HUMANS, CAPTURE THE DOCTOR! rang the mechanized voice in his head.

He recognized them

FORMER RELATIONSHIP IS OF NO IMPORTANCE. YOUR LOYALTY IS TO THE CYBER-RACE! WE MUST SURVIVE!

"_Marissa, I'm in love with you!"_

His blaster was charged and ready to fire.

"_Put the gun down you get a second chance."_

Marissa….

ENTRY FILE: MARISSA. KNOWN COMPANION OF THE DOCTOR'S TENTH INCARNATION. ORIGINATED FROM LIBRARY PLANET-

No, that wasn't who he was thinking about, that girl…

Marissa Cooper. He loved her-loves-

YOU NO LONGER LOVE. YOU ARE A MEMBER OF THE CYBER-RACE. DESTORY HER!

The Cyberman beside him was suffering no doubt. It was about to fire. Marissa would be killed.

DESTROY HER AND ALL DOUBT WILL VANISH. YOU WILL BE FREE FROM ALL EMOTIONS

"_Second chance."_

Oliver fired the blaster.

"Did that Cyberman just shoot the other one?"

Oliver turned to them.

"Come. We must hurry, others will be here soon."

Summer turned to the Doctor.

"Can we trust him?"

"Perhaps, perhaps not. But what he said is true; more Cybermen will be here soon."

Marissa and Ryan noticed the Cyberman looking at her.

"Marissa…" it said, holding out its hand to her.

"Do…do I know you?" she asked. She was terrified of it, and how it seemed to be staring at her, but given that it had just saved their lives, she thought it would be rude to show it.

"You….you don't recognize me?"

It sounded…hurt that she couldn't recognize him.

"Ummm…no, I can't" she said softly.

"It's me. Oliver."

Marissa wasn't able to hide being horrified this time.

- -

Luke stood uncomfortably. While Julie was trying to keep Kirsten from collapsing, he had to deal with Taylor.

"So, Luke" she said, twirling her hair, "they say that in times of crises, people will…uh, hook up, ya know?"

Luke didn't know whether Taylor didn't see the daggers Julie's eyes were aiming at her, or simply didn't care.

This was interrupted when the phone began to ring. Julie cautiously answered it.

"Hello?"

"Is it Sandy?" sniffled Kirsten.

"_Juju?"_

"Cal?"

"Dad?"

"Listen, Cal" said Julie, switching into bitch mode, "you have a lot of nerve calling us, after the shit you just pulled. You think I didn't notice you in the sky-"

"Julie, shut up!" yelled Caleb, who at the moment was high above them, lugging explosives on his body. "I how you feel, but I need to talk to Kirsten, right now!"

Julie could tell he was serious, and handed it over to Kirsten.

"Dad?"

"Kirsten, listen, I can't imagine what you're going through, I don't think any of us can. But I don't have much time."

"Dad, what are you talking about?"

"Listen, Kiki, I screwed up, I know that. But I'm going to try to make things right."

"What? Dad, what are you planning?"

"I'm going to make sure that conversion machine is never turned back on. But…"

"But what, dad, but what?"

Caleb sighed.

"Kiki…I'm not going to come back from this."

"What? What do you-?"

"Kiki, listen, I lived a long and productive life. I've built myself up from nothing, set up the Newport Group, raised two beautiful children…what more can someone ask for?"

"Dad, please, we can figure out another plan-"

"And I live, and face what? I worked with the enemy, Kirsten. I don't they're going to let me walk away. And besides, I'm Caleb Nichol, what better way to go out? What are my alternatives? Live to be a hundred, spend my days in a rest home waiting for someone to change my diapers? Or have a heart attack?"

Kirsten was sobbing.

"Dad, please-"

"My mind's made up, Kiki, and you know how stubborn I am. Where do you think you got your stubbornness from? Now, listen, Kirsten. I know our relationship has been rocky, especially recently, but I'm always been proud of you. You everything a father could hope for and more, and I know you're going to get out of this okay."

Kirsten smiled. "Thanks daddy"

"When you see Hailey, tell her I love her, and I know she's going to find her place someday. As for Seth, tell him I always knew he had it in him; that Roberts girl is hot…uh, don't tell him that, make up something less creepy"

Despite her tears, Kirsten smiled.

"As for the boy from Chino…if it turns out he's not pretending and he really is a good kid, tell I'm sorry for doubting him. And if it turns out he really is scamming you, remember I told you so."

"Dad, I'm begging you-"

"And honey…I'm sorry about Sandy. I'm so sorry."

"What? Sandy, dad-"

"Kirsten, I have to go. I love you."

"Dad? DAD!" cried Kirsten, but all she could hear was a dialing tone.

Caleb looked behind him to see two Cybermen approaching him.

"Halt!" one of them ordered.

"Fuck you" Caleb replied, as he jumped.

As he fell, time seemed to slow. Half way down, Caleb reached down and activated the explosives.

A fireball fell on the Conversion Chamber, and spread through out it. In seconds, the Conversion Chamber collapsed, as both man and Cyberman ran for cover from it.

Kirsten sobbed, but a part of her felt peace. She always knew that, despite how he acted at times, her father was a good man. With this act, he had proved it to all.


	29. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

The Cyber-Leader would have been very angry.

He wasn't, of course. He couldn't be, no more than he could spontaneously sprout wings. He couldn't be mad, or sad, or glad, he couldn't feel anything; that was removed long, long ago.

But if he could, he'd be furious.

It was not fair, everything had been going perfectly. They had sealed Newport off, prevented interference from UNIT or Torchwood or whatever organizations they had in this time. Its entire populace was there's, to convert at will. They were going to triumph.

Except for the Doctor. The Doctor, it was always the Doctor. No matter what place and what time, it seemed the Doctor always showed up to thwart them, to meddle with their plans! Why couldn't he leave them alone! All the Cybermen wanted to do was bring peace to the universe, to share their enlightenment with the entire universe.

But he wasn't angry. It was impossible.

"How go the repairs on the Conversion Chamber?" he asked.

"It shall be functional again within ten minutes."

"Excellent."

Some good news, at last. The Doctor was an annoyance, but they would still triumph.

"We have located Nichol" another Cyberman reported.

More good news. The Cyber-Leader would have smiled, had he a mouth. That human was becoming a pest as well. They should have converted him long ago.

"Kill him now."

"We cannot"

"Why?"

"He is covered with explosives. If we fire, the resulting explosion could cause tremendous damage."

The Cyber-Leader tightened his fist.

"What is his location?"

"He is near the top of the conversion chamber."

A thought occurred to the Cyber-Leader. He wouldn't…surely he couldn't be that illogical?'

"He is nearing the chamber"

"Fire, kill him now!" the Cyber-Leader ordered.

"It's too late, he's jumped"

"Put the Conversion chamber on screen!"

The Cyber-Leader watched as Caleb Nichol, his body covered with explosives, turned into a fireball midway down.

"No!"

The Cyber-Leader hurried to the controls for the conversion chamber. There had to be something he could do. The conversion chamber was a work of beauty, a triumph of the Cyber-race's technology, it could not be destroyed by a mindless ape!

"Sir, get back, the feedback-"

The Cyber-Leader didn't hear any more than that. Electricity surged through the console, and through it into the Cyber-Leader. He roared in pain as the electricity shocked every part of him, metal and flesh. It felt like every inch of him was stabbed a thousand times at once. He tried to step back, but he couldn't feel any movement. Finally, the electricity went into his head, and he collapsed.

- -

"You're joking, I know you are. Because you can not be fucking serious that we can trust him."

Ryan, Marissa and Summer looked at each other. None of them knew how to respond to Seth. Shouldn't they all feel the same?

Ryan decided to go first.

"Seth, he did save us-"

"He's Oliver. Oliver Trask. The guy that tried to ruin our lives, _your_ life! Why the hell are we even discussing this!"

"Because we're not in any position to turn down help!" Ace cut in. She and the Doctor had kept out of the four Newport teens conversion, keeping an eye on the apparently friendly Cyberman.

Seth turned to the Doctor. "You said that when someone becomes a Cyberman, they're gone, they're not the person we knew!"

"That's true, for 99.9 of the time" answered the Doctor, looking thoughtful. "However, in extremely rare cases, some individuals have been known to resist the conversion to some degree. I've heard rumors of a Cyberman called Kroton, for example, who has been known to help those in need-"

"You said there was no chance!" Summer yelled, distressed. Part of her was still disturbed at having killed Holly Fisher, who was a friend of her and Marissa for many years. Had there been a chance that Holly was still there, deep down? And what of the other Cybermen she had killed? How many of them were people she knew? People who might have been saved?

"Because all it would have given you was false hope for converted loved ones! You would have held back and been captured!" the Doctor shot back.

"You see? He wants to lead us into a trap!" concluded Seth.

"Why? If he hadn't shot that other Cyberman we would have been dead!" argued Marissa.

"I don't know!" screamed back Seth. He then walked up to Marissa, a hateful gleam in his eye.

"But I'm surprised at you Marissa. I didn't think you were _this_ stupid!"

"SETH!" screamed Summer, rushing towards him and holding him.

"What? You thought she would have learned last time about trusting Oliver, but no, she wants to give it another try!"

Marissa started to whimper. Ryan instinctively moved close to her. He never would have thought of Seth as dangerous, but his adoptive brother had become manic since this began, and he wasn't sure how he react.

"Seth, that isn't fair" Ryan said sternly.

"Yes it is! She betrayed you, Ryan, and now she's ready to do it again!"

Suddenly, Marissa stepped forward and slapped Seth. All saved the Doctor stood silent. Marissa continued to stare at Seth, breathing hard, her teary eyes now looking extremely pissed. Seth glared at her in return.

"You bi-" he began.

"Quiet, all of you!" the Doctor cut in. "Tonight could be the beginning of the end for your race! Do you just want to stay here, snapping at each other like animals!?"

"All I'm saying, is that we couldn't even trust him before he was a Cyberman! How can we trust him now?" Seth retorted.

They heard a heavy stomping. They looked up to see the Cyberman – the Cyberman that claimed to be Oliver – looking down at them.

"You do not trust me" he stated.

"No, we don't!" Seth yelled.

Oliver stood silently. He then walked over to a wall, and opened up a hidden compartment. He lifted up his arm and opened up a compartment on his arm, and took out a wire. He connected it to the console.

"I'm downloading all the current information on the building, where troops are positioned, and how best to proceed to the main room."

The Doctor looked at Oliver, then spoke.

"I trust him."

Seth was incredulous.

"_I_ don't"

"Your opinion doesn't matter" replied the Doctor, not looking at the teenager.

- -

_It was a cold Mondasian day._

_A oxymoron, Tom thought. Every day in Mondas was cold. When he was young, the Sistermen at school told of him of in the past, when geothermal power from the core kept everyone warm all the time. Now, however, all that energy was claimed by the Central Committee, and all they were left with were sweaters._

"_Tom, come on!" _

_Sarah skated up to him, smiling as always. _

"_I told you, I don't skate."_

"_And I told you, I don't care" she laughed as she dragged him on._

- -

"Sarah…"

"Sir, you are awake"

The Cyber-Leader slowly lifted himself up.

"What…what happened to me…"

"The feedback…it shocked you, rendered you unconscious for 5.43 minutes."

"Have I suffered any damage?"

"Some minor effects on the brain, but we can repair that later."

"Excellent."

He noticed them watching him.

"What?"

"Who is…Sarah?"

"No one"

- -

Ryan finally had enough. Oliver had been looking at him for over a minute.

"Why are you looking at me?"

"You convinced me not to kill myself."

Ryan was somewhat taken aback by the question.

"Yeah"

"Why?"

Ryan was clearly uncomfortable with the question.

"I've seen enough death"

"But you wanted me to"

Ryan's head snapped up.

"No, I-"

"Your facial features, your movements…you were hoping I did not listen to you."

Before Ryan answered, there was a noise outside the room.

"What was that?" asked Marissa.

"I will check" said Oliver, who marched to the door. He opened it, only to be hit with a blast.

They gasped when they saw the new Cyberman. It was different from the others, lacking a metal mask. And the face was familiar.

"Sandy."


	30. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

"Ryan, we have to go!" Marissa cried out, tugging at her boyfriend. Ryan, however, appeared to be in a trance.

Sandy. Cyberman.

Sandy was a Cyberman.

"Ryan, we're going! Now!" Marissa screamed, as she dragged Ryan away.

"Your meddling has come to an end, humans!" Sandy announced, as he aimed his blaster.

"I got this" muttered Ace, as she readied a canister of Nitro-9.

"NO!" screamed Seth in horror.

"He's not your father anyway" the Doctor said sternly.

Ryan saw Ace get ready to throw the canister. He rushed over and tackled her just as tossed it. Sandy was knocked down by the explosion, but was none-the-worse for wear otherwise.

Ace threw Ryan off of her.

"What the hell!?" she demanded.

"You can't just kill him!" Ryan explained.

Sandy was just about to blast them, when something grabbed his foot, and pulled him down.

"Oliver!" yelled Marissa. The Cyberman was damaged, but still working.

"Go now!" he yelled.

Sandy got up and kicked the renegade.

"You will pay for you betrayal" he muttered.

"Come" said the Doctor.

"We just can't leave him!" argued Marissa.

"No!" cried out Oliver, struggling with Sandy. "You must leave!"

"Listen, if you want to continue to argue and then die, stay here. Anyone who wants to live, follow me!" announced the Doctor.

Marissa stared at Oliver for a moment longer, before turning.

- -

The Cyber-Leader glared down at the humans. With the destruction of the conversion chamber, the Cyber-troops were merely keeping them from wondering off, trying to keep order, not so easy since the majority of the troops were now searching for the Doctor and his allies.

He watched the humans scatter around, like mats. These…vermin were the future of the Cyber-Race? They were to be the vanguard of the new Cyber-Empire? The thought disgusted him. Once, the Cybermen were pure Mondasians, the ultimate form of that great race. But the centuries of war had withered them down. They turned to their sister race, the humans that sprung from Earth, to renew their ranks. They began to outnumber those born on Mondas so long ago. Now, the Cyber-Leader realized, he could be the last of his kind. And the future of the Cyberman's, Mondas' legacy, would be left to these savages…

Logically, he shouldn't be worried. Science had proven there was large biological difference between the Earthlings and Mondasians; they might as well have been the same species. But as he looked at them, the Cyber-Leader knew that something, deep down, made the Mondasians better than their Earth-spawned brethren; they just hadn't found it yet.

"Sir, the humans are growing restless, and proving difficult to control" reported the newly-promoted Cyber-Lieutenant.

"So they are…" the Cyber-Leader trailed off. He turned to reply

_Tom tossed the last of the tree into the fireplace. _

"_That should keep it going for another hour or so" he muttered, as he rushed to rejoin Sarah under the blankets. _

"_That should be long enough" assured Sarah. _

_It was first holiday together, well, together officially. Last year was spent at Sarah's family home. While it wasn't one of the extravagant castles from before the revolution (of which only the Imperial family's remained, which now housed the Central Committee), it was still vastly more grand than the small house Tom (and now Sarah) called home._

"_You really don't regret it? Marrying me?" he asked as they embraced. He knew the answer, he just liked hearing it. _

"_You know, maybe I do" she said, flashing him a smile. "Maybe I should go back to mom and tell her she was right, and I've married Donald Phillpot." She started to laugh, and Tom soon joined her._

"_Do you really think they'll do it?" she asked, as the laughter died down._

"_Do what?"_

"_Break through to the surface, after so long"_

"_I don't see why not; what with all technology can do nowadays."_

_Sarah sighed._

"_Can you imagine it? Being on the surface, seeing the stars…."_

_Tom leaned over and kissed her._

"_As long as I can see you, it doesn't matter"_

_Sarah pushed him off._

"_I'm serious" she protested. "Just think…" she said, as she patted her belly._

"…_maybe our child will grow up never knowing a time they couldn't see the stars."_

"Sir…?" the Cyber-Lieutenant repeated. The Cyber-Leader lifted his head.

"What?" he yelled, angry.

"You appeared to gone off-line"

"Irreverent. Merely minor damage from the feedback. I can still function as Cyber-Leader" he protested.

The other Cybermen paused for a moment. The Cyber-Leader stiffened, and reached for his blaster. If these mongrels tried to usurp leadership from him…

"Very well. In any case, what is to be done of the humans?"

The Cyber-Leader paused to consider.

"We cannot convert the humans; as such, they no longer have any worth. Destroy all of them."

- -

Oliver fell again as Sandy's fists punched him. Though he managed to remove his opponent's blaster, he was still overpowered. The damage done to him initially had decreased his power by 22.87%, and it had been declining steadily ever since.

"You will pay for your betrayal" Sandy intoned, as he tore off a piece of metal from his arm.

Inside his head, Oliver heard his internal computer listing off the increasing damage. A clear dirty liquid started to drip from various parts of his armor.

Sandy then pulled Oliver up, and started to pull off his chest unit.

"AUGGHHH" moaned Oliver, as Sandy pulled it off, revealing a mass of flesh and circuits. He then reached in to it, and Oliver roared in pain.

"You still want to feel?" asked Sandy. "Then I will give you the feeling of pain."

Oliver moaned again, and collapsed. Sandy looked over him.

"The humans you protected will be found and destroyed. You have failed."

- -

Luke had thought the situation was as bad as it could get. He had been proven him wrong. Moments ago, the sound of blasters increased, as well as screams.

He looked over to Julie, who was holding on Kirsten, no longer crying but looking to be in some kind of trance.

Taylor then ran to them, looking panicked.

"Taylor, what's going on?" asked Julie.

"They're killing everybody!" Taylor screamed in reply.

"What?" said Luke.

"They're killing everybody, nobody knows why, but a couple of minutes ago they just started killing everybody for some reason!" explained Taylor.

"Jesus…" muttered Luke.

"We have to get out of here" said Taylor.

"No. Not without Marissa and the others" retorted Julie, in a tone that said this was non-negotiable.

"Julie, what the hell do you suggest we do?" said Luke.

"We fight back" said Kirsten suddenly.

"Kiki, are you-?"

"Don't call me that!" screamed Kirsten. "Only dad can call me that, and he's dead"

"Uh, Mrs. Cohen, you're under a lot of stress-" started Taylor.

"Shut up, I don't even know who you are! I'm tired of crying, I'm tired of running, I'm tired of waiting for some short Scottish alien to tell us what to do!" Kirsten roared back.

She looked around, and picked up a golden rod.

"Come on. We're going to show these freaks how Newport treats outsiders."

- -

Ryan kept his eyes on Seth, who looked ready to explode.

"Seth, you have to calm down-"

"Calm down? CALM DOWN!? Did you see what I saw, Ryan!?"

"Seth, please-" said Summer, holding his hand, hoping he wouldn't do anything rash.

"Yes, Seth, I did, but we have to-"

"What we have to do is turn him back!"

"Impossible" said the Doctor. "The process is irreversible. I'm sorry, but your father is gone."

Seth just stared at the Doctor, his face a mixture of rage and despair.

"No. You're wrong. There has to be a way. I mean, they rescued Captain Picard from the Borg-"

"This isn't a TV show, Seth-" started Ryan.

"DON'T YOU THINK I FUCKING KNOW THAT!?" snapped Seth, screaming at Ryan, with a rage he had never seen in his adopted brother.

"Seth, you're scaring me!" yelled Summer, her eyes tearing up. The sight of his beloved Summer scared seem to bring Seth back from the brink.

"Okay, maybe we can't…can't fix his body, but we can fix his mind, right? He'll still be a Cyberman, but he'll still schmear bagels and tell dumb jokes, right" asked Seth, a pleading look in his eyes.

The Doctor shook his head.

"The Conversion process doesn't repress its victim's personality, it destroys it. It's a lobotomy. He still has memories, and the knowledge he had before, but the things that made him…well, human, those are gone"

Seth was silent, and then shook his head.

"No. I don't believe you. If Oliver fucking Trask can break free, then my dad will!"

"Oliver was a freak occurrence, you can't-"

The argument was interrupted by the sound of blaster bursting through the door. Through it walked Sandy.

"Doctor…"

Sandy raised his newly-acquired blaster and aimed it at the Doctor.

"No you don't!" yelled Ace, as she threw herself at the Cyberman, just as he fired the blaster. Ace managed to disrupt his aim. The blast hit the ceiling, and pieces of it fell on top, one trapping the Doctor by his leg.

Before Ace could react, Sandy swatted her away.

"ACCEE!" screamed the Doctor.

Ryan watched as Sandy aimed his blaster at the pinned Doctor.

"You have thwarted us for the last time, Doctor"

Then, Seth rushed up, and stood directly in between the Doctor and Sandy.

"Seth, get out of the way!" yelled Ryan.

"No."

"Seth-"

"No. Ryan, I know my dad, and I know he's in there."

The blaster started powering up.

"Seth, he'll kill you if you stay in the way, he's not your father anymore!" yelled the Doctor.

Seth didn't bulge.

"Get out of the way, child" ordered Sandy.

"Dad, even though you're talking like a super villain, I know you're not going to hurt me."

Sandy showed no reaction.

Ryan grabbed a golden rod.

"Then you will die as well-"

Sandy moaned, and looked down to see a golden rod sticking through his body; right through his heart.

"DAD!" screamed Seth.

Sandy dropped the blaster, and staggered around.

"I…will…not…"

A dirt liquid poured out of Sandy's mouth. When it finished, he collapsed.

Ryan, tears pouring out, looked at Sandy's face. He hoped that, for one moment, the real Sandy would come back, to tell Ryan it was all right.

"…it matters not…I am one of many…we will survive…."


	31. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Ryan had just killed Sandy.

Ryan just looked down at the metallic body that had once been his foster-no, his father. The man who took a chance on some punk kid he just met, who completely changed his life; without him he would have never gone to Newport, never have met Seth or Marissa, never know what it was like to have a real family…

"NOOOO!" screamed Seth, who rushed over to his father's body.

"Dad, come on, dad…" he cried, clearly in a state of denial.

"Seth…"

Seth glared at Ryan.

"How could you? HOW FUCKING COULD YOU?!" he screamed.

"Seth…" Ryan's voice started to break.

"After all he did for you, all WE did for you, this how you repay us!?"

Seth got up and stood very close to Ryan, who stiffened. Before things could go further, an umbrella appeared between them. The two boys turned to see the Doctor glaring at them.

"You fight like animals" he said simply, "and you'll die like them as well."

He then rushed over to Ace's body, and picked her up in his arms.

"Ace, come on, wake up…"

"…Professor."

"That's my girl, come on, now. We have work to do."

Ace slowly got up, holding her head.

"Shouldn't she go to the hospital?" asked Marissa.

"I don't think that's an option right now" replied Ryan.

Summer, meanwhile, went up to Seth. Her boyfriend was kneeling, desperately trying to hold back his tears, looking at his father's corpse.

"Seth?" she asked, nervous. She couldn't imagine what Seth was going through.

"Seth?" she repeated, more forcibly this time, while carefully putting her hand on one of his shoulders. She was careful, as if trying to assure a wounded animal she just wanted to help, and to not snap at her. Which, one could argue, was just what she was doing.

Seth slowly turned around.

"Summer…"

He placed his hands on her face and felt it, as if to assure himself she was really there.

"My dad…he's dead."

"I'm sorry, Seth" she said as she hugged him.

"It's…it's not fair" Seth spat out as the tears broke through. Back in the pre-Ryan years of his life, when Summer didn't even know him and school was a house of horrors, he had taken comfort in that he at least had a family. His mother and father actually cared about each other, and stayed together out of love, not out of convince or to avoid scandal. He knew he could always talk to them, even though he was usually too embarrassed to. Then last summer, Ryan had come, leading to him actually getting Summer. It seemed that his life would finally be perfect.

But now…it was if Jesus and Moses had said 'Okay kid, you got Summer and friends now, so we're going to kill your dad, you know, to even things up?'

"I know" Summer replied softly, as she held him. She couldn't imagine what he was going through. Yes, her mother had left her, but she at least knew she was alive; and to see your father killed by your best friend, your brother, in order to save you…

A sharp metallic clasp interrupted her thoughts. They all looked to see an incredibly damaged Cyberman, dragging himself in. Huge chunks of his armor were missing, showing the pale flesh within. He was on his stomach, the lower half of his left-leg having been torn off; a trail of dirty liquid followed him.

"God…" muttered Ryan.

The Doctor, however, seemed to take the sight in stride, and walked up to the Cyberman, and leaned down to address him.

"Oliver? Oliver, is that you?" he asked.

"y-245&^s,..e" he replied in a garbled, electronic voice.

Ryan looked at the Cyberman, who only a few hours ago had been the person he hated most. But still….no one deserved…that.

"Doct0#r…I mu#t tell *ou…they have a base inside the earth"

The Doctor's features sharpened.

"What are they planning?" he asked.

"They h%ve a mac(ne…they're g^ing to ca%$#e quakes all…all o%#er the world…"

"Oh course!" the Doctor said suddenly. He began to pace himself around the room, talking to himself as much as anyone else.

"The Cybermen have more advanced weaponry, but they're still outnumbered and outgunned. But with this machine…they could cause untold devastation across the globe. Humanity would be fractured, focusing on rebuilding their own homes instead of joining together against the Cybermen. This, in turn, will allow them to spread out and convert humanity gradually; all of Earth would be theirs in a matter of months"

"You must….must stop them" said Oliver.

The Doctor nodded. "We will. Thank you. Come, let's go."

"You're just going to leave him here?" asked a disbelieving Ryan.

"There's nothing we can do for him" the Doctor replied. "The only ones who could save him are the Cybermen; by now he'll be registered as a renegade."

Ryan wanted to argue, but found he couldn't think of a retort.

"If we don't stop this, what happened to him, what happened to your father will happen to you and everyone you know" said the Doctor.

"Go Ry!%n" said Oliver. "Go no*&^."

Ryan sighed.

"All right."

The others followed the Doctor. Ryan was about to follow them.

"Ryan?"

He turned to see Oliver, his body now unmoving.

"Pro…protect….her…."

- -

"…_and the bulbs represent the worlds we pass by" explained Sarah to her two children. She looked down to see, however, that they had other things on their minds._

"_Mom! Darren's sucking on the star!" five-year old Sally complained, pointing to her two-year brother, who was indeed putting the ornament inside his mouth. _

_Sarah winced at she heard the mechanical rattling in her daughter's chest. Sally's heart had started to give out a few years ago, and had to be replaced. She was in good company. When Sarah was young, mechanical parts were just for the wealthy and the vain. Now, it seemed like almost everyone was part machine now, just so they could survive. _

_She chuckled as he picked up her son._

"_No, honey, don't do that" she said as he took it away from him. Her son laughed at her._

"_Eww, it's slimy now" complained Sally._

_The family heard the door open._

"_Daddy!" Sally screamed, dropping the sun ornament. _

_Tom looked tired, but still smiled when he leaned down to grab his daughter. _

"_Hey, honey, what'd you do today?" he asked. He was trying to be cheerful, but Sarah could sense the tenses in his voice. _

"_It was great! We went to Yvonne's house, and she got a bird and it's named Trilliby and-"_

"_-That's great, sweetie"_

_Sarah smiled. It was good to see Tom smile; he had been doing it less and less. _

"_Okay, I have to talk with mommy. Can you bring Darren into your room and play?"_

_Sally smiled and hurried into her room, her brother following close behind. Sarah then walked up to her husband._

"_Did you….?"_

"_Yes, yes." Tom reached into his pockets and took out a wad of cash. _

"_I'm sorry you had to do this"_

"_I wouldn't have, but my brother made me promise to sell his…body to Dodd."_

_Sarah automatically shivered at the mention of Thomas Dodd, the proprietor of the local body bank. He'd offered money for body parts, which he'd then sell to the richer Mondasians, in place of the Committee's mechanical parts. Sarah had met the man only once, but the way he had stared at her…she hoped she would never see him again._

"_Well, at least it's over-"_

"_Over!? What are we going to do after this money is gone?" Tom shouted, causing Sarah to flinch. _

"_Tom, it should last for at least a year-"_

"_Yes, as long as long as none of us get sick!"_

_Tom sighed and sat down._

"_Sarah…I think you should go back to your family"_

_Sarah's jaw dropped._

"_Tom, I've told you-"_

"_Sarah, please, just take the children-"_

"_Tom, my family doesn't have any money anymore!"_

_Tom looked up._

"_What?"_

"_I saw my mother the other day at the hydroponic garden last week. Their broke, most of the families are. She apologized, gave me what money she had, and…left."_

_Tom moaned. "Blood of my ancestors…"_

"_Tom, I wish you wouldn't worry so much. What happened to the man I met?"_

"_He's worried because he's not sure he can provide for his family!" snapped Tom._

"_How many times to do I have to tell you, I don't care about luxuries-"_

"_Luxuries?! I worried I can't get them food and medicine!"_

_Tom saw the look on his wife's face, and saw the fear in it._

"_Sarah, I'm-I'm sorry. It's just…."_

"_I understand, Tom. Things are tough."_

"_And they're going to get tougher."_

_Tom sighed._

"_Mondas is dying."_

"_Tom, don't talk like that-"_

"_Oh, please, everyone knows it! Our lifespans are half what they were a hundred years ago! Birth rates drop every year, and we're growing less food! If something doesn't change, and change soon, we're going to be the last generation!"_

_Tom breathed heavily, before he calmed himself down._

"_Sarah, I'm going to volunteer for the work crews on the surface."_

_Sarah didn't react for a moment, not believing what she heard._

"_What?"_

"_The money they'll send you, they'll provide for everything-"_

"_And I'll-we'll-never see you again!" Sarah protested. _

"_You don't know that-"_

"_Oh? How many have gotten notices from the Committee, telling them of the noble sacrifice their loved ones have made!?"_

"_I promise, I'm going to come back-"_

"_Come back!? No one has ever come back!?"_

_Tom moaned in frustration._

"_Honey, we have to be rational about this!" _

_He grabbed his wife by the shoulders, forcing her to look him in the eyes._

"_I'm not going to just stand by and watch the people I care about wither and die" _

"_You can-"_

"_Honey, I'll be helping the whole planet. Once we get to the surface, we can take control of our planet! We can make it go back to the solar system, back to the sun!"_

The Cyber-Leader snapped out of it. He hadn't thought of life back on Mondas in centuries…why now?

Of course, he realized, the shock. It had somehow reawakened his memories, his…

No, he had no emotions. He was a creature of logic, who would judgment would not be clouded by emotion.

He looked at the screen, showing a Cyber-base deep under the Earth's surface. At the center was a huge machine, pulsating with energy.

"Is it ready?" asked the Cyber-Leader.

"Almost. We can start within 20 minutes."

"Excellent"

Let the Doctor have his small meaningless victories. Tonight the Earth would burn.

- -

"Here we are" said the Doctor, who opened the console by the door.

"What are you doing?" asked Summer.

"You'll see" said the Doctor.

The door opened, revealing a troop of Cybermen.

"Doctor…"

"Please, be patient! There, we go…" said the Doctor, as he put two wires together.

The roof of the room suddenly surged with electricity, which then went down to the Cybermen below. They all cried out in pain, and then collapsed to the ground.

Once the electricity dissipated, the Doctor walked up to the control console, carefully stepping over the fallen Cybermen.

"Now, to bring down that shield" he muttered as he started to press the various buttons.

"Umm" began Marissa, "you're not going to let the Cybermen know we're here like last time, are you?"

The Doctor chuckled in response.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that; by now I'm sure every Cyberman in the complex knows we're here."

He raised his head, as if a thought just occurred to him.

"You better close that door."

Ace and Summer went over and tried to close it, when a metal hand burst through it.

"Crap" muttered Ace. The girls ran as the door burst open, and a group of Cybermen came in, firing.

"EVERYONE DOWN!" screamed the Doctor. No one needed the Doctor to tell them that.

Ace reached down and picked up a golden rod, and smashed it into one of the Cybermen, causing it to scream and collapse.

"One down…"

Seth, meanwhile, was hurdled, his eyes closed, his hands covering his ears. He was going to die. They all were.

He wondered what would happen to them. There had to an afterlife; if killer cyborgs were real, then so did God.

"Seth!?"

He opened his eyes to see Summer. She was hiding in a corner. She was scared.

She wanted him.

"Summer…" he moaned.

Summer looked, and a glint of hope appeared in her eyes. She started to run towards him, when she fell suddenly.

"SUMMER!!!" screamed Seth, who ran towards the love of his life. He gasped when he reached her.

"God…"

The blast had blown off the upper half of her left arm. All that was left was a stump.

"Seth…" moaned Summer, starting to cry at the pain.

Seth's first instinct was to call his father. But his father was dead. His mother was…alive, she had to be alive, he couldn't loose both of them. And he couldn't loose Summer.

"Ryan!" he screamed. All anger against his brother was forgotten; he needed him.

His prayers were answered when his brother appeared by his side. He unwrapped the bandages on his hand, and wrapped them around Summer.

"She's going to be okay, right Ryan? Right?" asked a desperate Seth.

"I don't know!" snapped Ryan. He then saw his brother's devastated face.

"I'm sorry Seth…I…I think she'll be okay." In reality, Ryan wasn't so sure, but Seth had been through a lot, and needed something to be assured in.

Ace swung at another Cyberman. And another.

She had been thinking a lot about her choice, lately; her choice to choose to travel with the Doctor. Fenric's revelations had forced her to think about the Doctor's motives in choosing her. She had heard about the Doctor's previous companions, and she didn't feel like she measured up; she wasn't a teacher, or a future space solider, or a robot dog or a shape shifting penguin; she was just some punk from Perivale.

Their encounter with Fenric seemed to explain it: the Doctor was forced to use her, she was just a pawn in the game between him and Fenric; her use to him was over.

But now, as she beat up robots from eons in the future, she realized something: it didn't matter. All her life, people had been telling her she'd amount to nothing. But for the past few years, she had seen sights they couldn't have even conceived of.

She had seen Earth's past and future; she had met beings made out of mist, and robots made of candy; she had made friends with a Neanderthal butler; and beat up a member of the most dangerous and feared race in the universe with a baseball bat. It didn't matter what her mother, or Paterson or anyone else thought of her; if they couldn't see her for what she was, then screw them; and if the Doctor was one of those people, well, then screw him too.

The Doctor did his best to ignore the carnage behind him; he had to focus on bringing down that shield. He think he finally understood how to do it.

"Here we go…" he whispered as he flipped the switch.

- -

"No…" whispered the Cyber-Leader, as the orange shield disappeared.

"This is impossible!" he screamed.

- -

Julie watched in horror as the golden rod was blasted into pieces by a blaster. A blaster which was then aimed at her.

Suddenly, however, a blast of gold dust struck the Cyberman. It started to choke, and then it fell. Julie looked up to see a soldier. On him were the words UNIT.

The room was now filled with soldiers, wielding guns that shot out gold dust. The Glitter Gun, designed by UNIT Doctor Harry Sullivan, designed specifically for use against the Cybermen.

Julie smiled. They'd won.

- -

"They have not won yet" announced the Cyber-Leader, as he entered the main control room.

"Contact our forces underground. We can longer proceed with the conversion of Earth; we must turn to our alternate plan" he ordered as he walked into an elevator, which then closed.

- -

The _Logic of Zheng_ took off from Newport, and headed northward. The plan was a failure, but the Cybermen were patient; they would wait for another opportunity.

"Sir" reported one of the Cybermen to the ship's commander, "Earth ships are approaching us."

"Let them" the commander answered, "their weapons cannot penetrate our ship."

The ship then shook.

"What was that?" asked a Cybermen, before the ship shook again.

"The human's weapons – they seem to be using alien technology" another reported.

"No!" screamed the ship's commander.

The jets fell back as the enemy ship fell into the ice of the North Pole.

Once again, Torchwood had fulfilled its duty.

- -

UNIT guards rushed into the room.

"About time you got here" said the Doctor, sounding annoyed.

Seth ran up to them, carrying Summer.

"My girlfriend – she needs help-"

"We've set up a medical tent, we'll take care of her" answered one of the soldiers, taking her from him.

The Doctor watched as a solider, bearing a colonel's rank, walked up to him.

"I presume you are the Doctor?" he asked.

The Doctor nodded, and the man held out his hand.

"Colonel Lithgow, sir, of UNIT. Our British counterparts speak of you with the utmost respect" said the man, sounding nervous. He was meeting a legend, after all.

The Doctor looked at the hand for a moment, before returning the gesture.

"Well, it appears the situation is under control. The Cybermen are defeated."

"_Do not celebrate yet, human."_

All turned to the screen, showing the Cyber-Leader in the Cybermen's underground base.

"Your quake-machine is of no use to you now" protested the Doctor. "You have no base, no troops to convert the Earth."

"_True, Doctor. But we do not need to convert the Earth to fulfill our mission of changing history."_

The Doctor looked concerned.

"What do you mean?"

"_If humanity will not become Cybermen, then they must be destroyed!"_

Ryan felt Marissa's grip on his hand tighten.

"_We will adjust our device, increase its power. Instead of limiting the damage to the surface, the entire planet will become unstable; the planet will cave in on itself!"_

All of them looked at the screen with horror.

"_Enjoy your victory while you can, humans; tonight your planet dies screaming!"_


	32. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

"_Enjoy your victory while you can, humans; tonight your planet dies screaming!"_

They all looked in the screen, horrified by the Cyber-Leader's words.

"He's bluffing; he can't do that, can he?" asked Marissa.

The Doctor shook his head slowly.

"They spent centuries living inside an exact duplicate of Earth; I'm afraid they're telling the truth."

Ryan almost couldn't believe it. Just a few days ago, his biggest problem was dealing with Marissa; now, he was dealing with the possible end of the world. He had never dealt with anything even remotely like this; no one had.

Well, almost no one.

"Come! We have to get down there, stop them" announced the Doctor, as he walked out of the room. Ryan followed him, without really knowing why; what else was he supposed to do?

He saw the Doctor by an elevator, once again messing with wires in the control box.

- -

The Cyber-Leader felt the increased heat; inside, his cooling mechanisms were working at top efficiency. The humidity of the environment was far from the cool atmosphere the Cybermen felt comfortable in. But they did not complain, for that was not in their nature.

The Cyber-Leader looked at the large machine, pulsating with power. It was a grand design, a spectacular example of Cyber-technology.

"Sir, the Doctor is attempting to gain access to the shaft" a Cyberman reported, interrupting the Cyber-Leader's thoughts.

The Cyber-Leader looked at the screen, at the Doctor. Why could he not just cease, just give up!?

"Prepare the device. Newport shall be our first target" he ordered.

- -

"I'm almost done…" mumbled the Doctor.

Seth was the first to notice the ground start to shake.

"Oh God…" he almost whispered.

As the shakes increased, it seemed like the building was about to cave in on itself. Chunks of the ceiling began to fall down.

"Got it!" announced the Doctor as the door opened, seemingly oblivious to the chaos around him. He stepped leapt over some rubble to get inside.

Ryan saw this, and after considering it for a few moments, followed him. He didn't notice Marissa going inside as well until after the shaft started going below.

"Marissa!" screamed Julie, who rushed to the door. Before she could enter, however, a large chunk of debris landed right in front of it, covering the exit.

- -

The Cyber-Leader would have smiled, had he could. The Doctor had to be done for, now, he had to! But still…the Time Lord had proven especially hard to deal with.

"More power!" he ordered.

The Cybermen looked at each other before answering.

"Sir, this is taking power from the main unit; we need it for the main blast" one explained.

The Cyber-Leader growled, but relented.

"Very well. We'll let them die with the rest of their planet."

He noticed the way the Cybermen were looking at him.

"Sir…." began one. "We have noticed that since the accident, you have grown increasingly…emotional"

"What?! You dare question my leadership!?" the Cyber-Leader snapped.

"We are merely-"

"I am perfectly capable of commanding us to the end of our mission!"

The other Cybermen stood silently, as if contemplating their next move. Without a word, they went off to continue their work.

Once again, the Cyber-Leader damned Caleb Nichol, and the accident that had somehow brought back the emotions from before his conversion; back when he was Tom Shepherd…

_Tom was shivering; his clothes had been removed, and he was lying on the cold metal slab. _

"_Can we start soon?" he asked, desperation in his voice. _

"_Yes, yes, just a moment" replied a hardened, cynical female voice. _

"_Umm" began Tom, 'are you sure this…'processing' is necessary?"_

_Doctorman Allan groaned. _

"_We've told you how the conditions on the surface are. There's not enough wool to make the coat you would need" she explained snidely. _

_Tom slowly nodded. He heard the machine start up._

"_Okay, we're ready to begin. Thank you for your dedication to Mondas and the People's Committee" said Allan, saying the last part with little enthusiasm._

_Seconds later, Tom went into the machine, and started to scream. _

- -

"We're going back" Ryan stated.

"No, we're not" replied Marissa.

The Doctor turned, as if he just became aware of the conflict between the two young people accompanying him.

"What now?" he asked, somewhat exasperated. He was becoming increasingly thankful that few of his companions had any romantic interests in one and other.

"We're going back and putting Marissa where's she safe?"

"Safe? Ryan, you heard what they said, they're going to destroy the Earth, there isn't anywhere safe!" protested Marissa.

"We're going up against those…things, she can't-"

"I must inform you, Mr. Atwood, that against the Cybermen you're abilities are about equal."

Ryan was about to protest further, but the Doctor interrupted him.

"And even if I agreed with you, we can't go back up; we have no time, and the debris is covering the entrance."

Ryan started to glare at the Doctor, giving which Marissa recognized as 'the look.' The Doctor turned, and looked…puzzled at it.

"Whatever it is you're trying to do, please stop, it's starting to annoy me."

Marissa tried in vain to hide her smile.

"Now, we're heading deep into the Earth; I assume neither of you have ever been there" started the Doctor. After Ryan and Marissa nodded their heads, he continued.

"Then I must inform you of the dangers we may encounter, in addition to the Cybermen."

"Like what? Dinosaurs?" said Marissa, trying to make a joke. However, the Doctor seemed to take her remark seriously.

"Unlikely, they tend not to dwell on the level we're going to, and I imagine the Cybermen would have killed any that were there in any case, but good thinking Marissa, you should always expect the unexpected."

"Uh-huh" replied Ryan, nodding slowly.

"I'm more concerned about the heat their machine is undoubtedly generating. Come here, both of you" said the Doctor as he gestured to the two teens.

Ryan and Marissa walked up to him, only for the Doctor to put his fingers on both their necks, and start to apply pressure.

"What are you…doing?" asked Marissa, as she suddenly felt her body begin to calm.

"Adjusting your bodies to withstand the heat. It's a, um, gift of my people."

"How long will it last?" asked Ryan.

"Oh, two hours or so" replied the Doctor.

"What do we do after that?" asked Marissa.

"If we aren't done by then, we'll be dead. Along with your world" the Doctor answered, not looking at them. The shaft then came to a halt.

"That's our floor" announced the Doctor.

- -

The Cyber-Leader was surprised by his reaction to the news that not only the Doctor still lived, he was now at their underground base.

He should have been livid that once again the Time Lord had cheated death; instead he felt…relived. For it felt wrong for the Doctor to die up there, so quick and unknown; he wanted to feel the Doctor's neck break in his grip.

"I will deal with the Doctor and the humans myself" he announced, as he grabbed and a blaster and headed outside.

- -

"So you idiots can't do anything!?" Julie screamed at Colonel Lithgow.

"M'am, please. We'll need heavy machinery to move that debris, and as of now, that is low on our priorities."

"Low on your list of-? You little shi-"

Two UNIT soldiers grabbed Julie and restrained her. It was a sight that normally Seth would have enjoyed greatly, but now…his father dead, having been turned into a soulless cyborg that tried to kill him; his girlfriend in critical care, her left arm having been atomized by a blaster; his grandfather dead as well, he just learned; his brother and best friend heading towards the center of the Earth to face the things that were responsible; and his mother was a wreck; had there been any booze nearby, she would have drinking it like there was no tomorrow.

Oh, that's right, he remembered. There probably wasn't going to be a tomorrow.

"It's going to be okay, mom…" Seth said, not even believing it himself. How many times had he been told that today? How the hell could things be okay? Dad and grandpa were dead, Ryan was going to join them soon, and then the entire planet was going to break apart. Just his luck, he supposed. He finally gets a social life, and six months later the world ends.

But looking at his mother, he knew he couldn't say any of that aloud. His owed his mom a lot, and the least he could do was try to make what time they had left as pleasant as it could.

"Miss, I'm very sorry about your daughter, but there's nothing we can use to go down there!" explained an exasperated Lithgow to Julie.

"Yes there is" Ace suddenly said.

- -

Ryan didn't know how long he stared when he got out of the elevator. He didn't know what to expect the inside of the Earth to look like, really.

The…cavern, he guessed you would call it, had a red tint to it. In the center was some sort of building; it looked almost organic, like some sort of formation. It stretched from the ground to the top of the cavern, narrowing as it got higher. Steam was rising from the ground, and pipes deep into the ground were pumping it into the building.

Ryan turned to the Doctor, as did Marissa. They needed him to explain to them, to assure them. But the Doctor was not in any state to do that; he was standing still, almost shaking.

"Doctor? Are you okay?" asked Marissa.

The Doctor remained almost motionless; they heard him breathing.

"Doctor?"

"I once saw a world…consumed by flames" he finally said. He wasn't looking at them; he was looking straight-ahead, and his eyes were wide.

"A whole world…its people tried to harness the power in its core…they couldn't hear it screaming out in pain…and it destroyed them…over 4 billion people…dead within a few hours…and I could do nothing…"

Ryan and Marissa didn't reply; they didn't know how to.

"I promised…I promised I wouldn't let it happen again. And I won't" the Doctor stated with determination.

"Oh, that reminds me" the Doctor said, suddenly energetic and smiling again, "if you see any green slime, I wouldn't touch it, unless you want to grow a lot of hair very fast."

- -

The Cyber-Leader aimed and fired at the Doctor and his allies. He watched as they scampered away.

"Seek and destroy" he ordered the Cyber-troops that followed him. They didn't even have to do that, he realized; all that was needed was to keep the Doctor away from the machine until it was fully powered, and destroyed the Earth and the miserable human race.

- -

"What do we do?" asked Ryan. "We don't have any gold to fight them with"

"True, however," the Doctor replied, "Cybermen are creatures of the cold; their inner cooling systems are probably working at full power right now; as such, they should be sluggish and less powerfull."

Another blast landed just near them; Ryan covered Marissa.

"I've got to get that building, sabotage it; I'll need you to keep our metal friends busy."

"So, you have no trouble asking two teenagers to risk their lives?" asked Marissa.

"You were the ones who decided to follow me down here" protested the Doctor. "Besides, to someone over 900 years old, all of you humans are children."

Marissa sighed, and got up.

"Hey, Cybermen! Over here!" she screamed. "Calm on, Ryan" she said as she pulled him up.

"Over here! Come on you bastards!" he yelled. The Cybermen started to move towards them.

The Doctor smiled. They were doing their part well; hopefully he could handle his.

- -

Ace and the others watched impatiently as UNIT soldiers cleared any debris out of the way.

"So this thing, the…TARDIS…it can take us to Marissa and Ryan?" asked Julie, thinking it almost too good to be true.

"It can take us anywhere" explained Ace. "Any place, any time….when it works."

The last part didn't fill Julie with confidence, but she had to hold on to any hope that she would be reunited with her daughter. And after everything that happened today, there was almost nothing she couldn't believe.

- -

Ryan felt the blast just feet away from him.

One level, he supposed, he still didn't believe this was really happening; that he fell asleep to some stupid movie Seth had been watching, and that was all just a dream.

But he felt the heat, he smelt the burning rocks, and he felt Marissa pulling on him, and he knew that this nightmare was all too real.

He got up, and with Marissa ran as fast as he did on New Year's; he prayed he was able to keep the Cybermen distracted long enough for the Doctor to sabotage his machine; if he didn't, if he failed…everyone he knew, everyone he didn't know…all of them would die.

_Marissa…Seth…Kirsten…_

The two teenagers came to a stop; before them was a short pile of rocks, about ten feet in height. Ryan reached to touch it; it burned.

_Summer…Luke…Mom…_

He looked back, and through the humid air saw blurry, silver figures lurching towards them.

"Come on" he said, grabbing Marissa' hand, "we've got to get over this."

He grabbed onto the enormous rock, grimacing as he felt the heat burn his hands.

_Trey...Mr. Ward…Dean Kim…_

He ignored the pain as he climbed the thing, pausing only to look down and assure himself of Marissa' (relative) safety.

"Come on, 'Rissa" he moaned. "I'm not losing you"

"I'm not losing you either" replied Marissa, as she lifted herself up.

_Donnie…Rosa…that waiter with the scar at the Crab Shack…_

As he climbed over the rock, he suddenly slipped and fell.

"RYAN!" Marissa screamed.

- -

The Cyber-Leader could feel something amiss. He could see the two humans scamper about in a pathetic attempt to escape, but where was the Doctor? He wouldn't leave them to fend for themselves, unless…

Of course. How could he have been taken in by such an obvious ploy?

"Stay here" he ordered his troops. "You will terminate the humans; I shall deal with the Doctor myself"

- -

Ryan felt Marissa grab him.

"Ryan? RYAN!?" she screamed.

"…Marissa" he moaned as he snapped back into consciousness.

"Ryan, we have to go, they'll be here soon!" she yelled.

Ryan got up, and looked at the rock they had climbed. "Wait, no" he said.

"What? Ryan-"

"I have a plan" Ryan interrupted her.

- -

_That's it, I'm suing the Tereleptil first chance I get_ the Doctor thought to himself as he looked at the wires and tried to connect and disconnect the lot of them. If their prison ships were better prepared, he would still have his Sonic Screwdriver, and this would have taken far less time.

He reached into his pockets, feeling for something.

"There we go" he muttered as he pulled out a coin. He had just placed it inside the control box when-

SWAP! A blow sent him clear over the railway. Moaning, the Gallifreyian looked up.

"This time, Time Lord, you are too late" said the Cyber-Leader.

- -

"Ryan, are sure you're well enough to do this?" asked Marissa.

Ryan, struggling not to show his pain, groaned before answering. "Doesn't matter. I have to."

Marissa frowned, but knew he was right. She laid her hands on the burning rock, and got into a position to push.

They heard the metal steps of the Cybermen get closer.

"Okay, one…" Ryan began.

"Let's just skip to three, okay?" interrupted Marissa, as she began to push against the boulder. Ryan immediately took her advice, and began to push as well.

They felt a shock on the other edge; the Cybermen had began to fire at the rock. Chips fell out and hit the teens in their faces.

"Cover your eyes!" screamed Ryan. They had to do it soon, as they felt the boulder start to fall to pieces.

"Come on…." moaned Ryan, praying to any higher power for help. Finally, they felt the rock start to move. And then, they realized they weren't pushing anything but air.

The Cybermen had no time to move before the huge boulders crushed them, pinning them to the ground.

Ryan and Marissa looked down, hardly believing what they saw. Did they really beat them? Did they actually triumph?

"Let's go find the Doctor" Ryan finally said.

- -

"We are fully powered now, Doctor. Once I give the order, this planet will be destroyed" said the Cyber-Leader.

"It doesn't have to end this way, you know?" replied the Doctor, in a pleading tone. "With death and destruction."

"It may be an ending for you and this world, but for the Cybermen, this will be a new beginning" countered the Cyber-Leader. "Without the Earth Empire to thwart it, the Cyber-Empire will fulfill its destiny of converting the entire universe."

"You think so? Perhaps" the Doctor said, as he rested his head on his umbrella. "However, there are other races, other empires, who will take advantage as well, who will fill the void you've created. Perhaps instead of humans, you will face the Martians, or the Rutan Host, or the Daleks."

"We will crush them" declared the Cyber-Leader.

"Well, I hope you do for your sake. Because humans can be careless and forgetful. When they defeated you, they were so eager to forget the fighting and go back to their comfortable homes and lives. They didn't care to search for long. That's why you were able to hide away in your tombs and such, until you could strike again. But others…the Daleks or the Sontarans…why, war and conflict is what they live for. They would have hunted you down to the last one."

"We shall be the ones doing the hunting! We shall triumph! We will survive!" the Cyber-Leader roared back. But the Doctor could sense a hint of doubt in his voice.

"Yes, you are good at surviving" the Doctor conceded. "You've never done well with succeeding, with conquering; every one of your attempts sees you defeated, more of your numbers gone…but somehow you only survive, to try and fail again."

The Cyber-Leader gripped his fist.

"Once I give the order, Doctor, I doubt you will find the situation so amusing."

"And what about you? What will you feel?"

"Cybermen feel nothing."

"Oh, please, you had emotions even before the accident; you had desires, you most certainly felt anger. The only difference now is you're memories are returning as well."

"You…know about my…emotions?" questioned the Cyber-Leader.

"Of course; I've seen your reactions; they're becoming more erratic; more paranoid."

"Then you admit it; these emotions are a curse!"

"No, no; yes, they can hurt, but don't you remember the joy, the warmth?" pleaded the Doctor.

Images flickered in the Cyber-Leader's mind: Sarah, his children, his family; but also of death, of the spreading darkness….

"No! Stop, your tricks will not work on me!" screamed the Cyber-Leader.

The Doctor sighed.

"I just want you to realize; there's another way. I could bring you back to your time, bring you to your people."

The Cyber-Leader raised his head.

"The Cybermen still exist? We are not the last?"

"Like you said; you survive. You could make peace with the humans'

"Peace? After centuries of conflict? They would never accept."

"Of course they would. You have technology to offer them."

"After they took what they wanted they would destroy us."

"No they wouldn't. I know it's hard to believe at times, but ultimately, they are a compassionate people."

The Cyber-Leader lowered his head, apparently deep in thought. The Doctor looked on, anxious for an answer. Finally, he raised his head.

"No."

The Doctor frowned.

"The Cybermen will not settle as lapdogs, dependent on the kindness of the humans. We shall be triumphant!"

"Please-"

"You have my answer, Doctor; Earth will join her sister in oblivion!"

He put his arm up to his mouth.

"Start the device!" he ordered.

- -

The Cybermen activated the machine. They knew it would destroy them as well as the Earth; this was fine. Individual Cybermen did not matter; only the Cyber-Race as a whole.

"Power at 75% and growing" reported one.

"Begin to send power to the surface" the Cyber-Lieutenant ordered.

A level was thrown; soon, the power would shake the Earth until it crumbled.

BEEP-BEEP

"Something is wrong" reported one.

"The transference is not working; the power remains here"

"Power reaching dangerous levels"

"Shut down the device!" ordered the Cyber-Lieutenant.

"The controls are unresponsive"

The building began to shake.

- -

"This is impossible!" the Cyber-Leader roared. He looked at the Doctor, who was smiling.

"What did you do?!" he demanded.

"Oh, a few crossed wires, a coin preventing some information from being passed…Just a few little things, that, all combined, will restrict the damage this machine does…" he tapped the building with his umbrella, "…to your base."

"YOU TRICKED ME!" the Cyber-Leader screamed.

"No; you tricked yourself. I gave you a choice, between life and death; you choose death."

"Doctor, you will die for this!"

"If I had a nickel every time I heard that…right now, though, I would concentrate one getting far away from here" he indicated to the building's shaking, "before it implodes."

The Cyber-Leader looked down at the shaking building. Looking up, he saw that the Doctor had vanished.

- -

"What's going on?" asked Marissa. In the distance, the Newport teens saw the complex shaking.

"I don't know, but something tells me we should stay away from it" replied Ryan.

"But what about the Doctor-?"

Marissa was interrupted as the building caved into itself; a cloud of dust emerged from it, heading straight towards them.

"DOWN!" Ryan screamed, as he and Marissa crunched to the ground to avoid the dust cloud.

- -

"There it is!" pointed out Ace.

"What? Where!?" demanded Julie.

"There! That blue box" explained Ace.

"What? How the hell is that supposed to help us?"

"Once you get inside you'll understand"

"And how do we do that? It looks like the Cybermen were trying"

Seth motioned to some large gun, which was aimed at the TARDIS. The box itself was blackened, seemingly showing the damage the laser had done.

"Yeah, but I know its' secrets" Ace explained, leaning up to 'Police Box' lettering at the top.

"Superior intelligence my arse! All they had to do was look behind the 'P' for the key!"

- -

Marissa and Ryan staggered through the dust, as they came upon wreckage of the building.

"You think….they survived?" asked Marissa.

"Who? The Doctor…or the Cybermen?"

"Either, I guess."

"I don't know. I don't think anyone could survive it…"

Ryan didn't have to say it aloud; both of them knew the Doctor and the Cybermen weren't anyone.

"If the Doctor…if he's dead…"

"I don't know" Ryan answered. He knew what she meant. If the Doctor was dead, how were they going to get back; he doubted they survive long down here.

"At least they're dead" said Marissa, trying to cheer Ryan (and herself) up. "Whatever happens to us…everyone we know, the planet…they're safe."

The rubble seemed to explode, and a large figure burst out. It was a Cyberman, but incredibly damaged. Chunks of his armor was torn off, revealing grey, old flesh, kept alive for eons after it should have perished. Most disturbing was the face; the parts uncovered showed a shallow eye socket, fitted with some cameral-like device, and its jaw…it…it lacked one.

The Cyber-Leader grabbed the male by its neck, and held it in the air. And he began to squeeze…

- -

_Tom watched as the Mondasian people rushed into the Committee palace, seeking shelter. It seemed that Mondas was finally meeting its end; the planet's entrance into the Cherrybowl nebula was putting too much strength on the planet; the outer atmosphere was seeking into the city; the only way the Mondasians would survive was for total conversion._

_Tom had only recently come down from the surface, where he and his fellow processeses were hard at work constructing the propulsion unit; however, he was one of several who was ordered to follow Commander Zheng back to the city; the Mondasian people were proving harder to control; this was believed to be the work of two unknown insurgents: a woman called Nyssa O'Traken; and a man only known as 'the Doctor.'_

"_Please help me!" a woman yelled, as she ran to him. He recognized her. Sarah…_

"_Help, my children, I can't find them. They got scared when they starting chopping down the tree, and I can't find them."_

_Her children. _His_ children. _

_He grabbed her arm._

"_What are you doing-?" she asked._

"_You will report for processing" he intoned._

_Personal relationships no longer mattered. Only the continued survival of the Cyber-race was important._

- -

Ryan felt the grip on his neck soften.

"Why were you chosen?" the Cyber-Leader growled.

"What?" he asked, confused by the situation. Where was Marissa? Hopefully, she ran for safety.

"While you crawled in caves, we had already established a modern civilization. Mondas was a utopia before it became a rogue world; but it was your world that was favored, yours that was allowed to prosper, while we were cast out from our sun, and forced to face the cold of space!"

Ryan could sense the hysteria in the voice; he was in the hands of a thing with the strength of ten men, and insane to boot.

"I'm…I'm sorry" he said, hoping to calm the Cyber-Leader down.

"Sorry? SORRY!?"

Obviously, Ryan's calming attempts hadn't been successful.

"We were superior to you in every way! Had we stayed, we would have colonized your planet; your kind would have examined and studied, to see why your intelligence was so low; perhaps we would have kept you in zoos, to amuse our children"

Ryan grunted in pain.

"Even in the thousand years since, look at the world you have created! You people are divided, fighting over resources; a select few rule in richness, while the rest starve; you release poisons into the air, poisoning the very biosphere that gives you life…"

"At least we didn't turn ourselves into tin soldiers" Ryan spat out.

"You dare judge us!? You couldn't understand the suffering we faced!"

"Try me"

The Cyber-Leader laughed.

"Are you so self-centered so as to think that your suffering is the greatest!?"

Ryan didn't respond.

"The female, the one who fled, who left you to me- she was your mate?"

"That's kinda a weird way of saying it, but-"

"Cease your prattling!"

_Yes, because I'm the one who obviously loves to talk_

"Tell me this: what if you had a family with her? Would you do anything for them"

"Yes" Ryan answered without hesitation. "I would die for them"

"Die? Die!?" The Cyber-Leader laughed.

"I LIVED for them, them and my entire race. I went under the knife, felt them as they cut out the parts that gave me joy. I have lived for millennia, constantly upgrading, more of myself lost each time; all for them!"

He looked at Ryan.

"What would you have done? Your world dying, resources dwindling, you children getting sicker and sicker; would you have stood there helpless, a mockery of a man, telling them things would get better, even though you knew that was a lie, that they would only grow worse!"

Ryan was silent.

"WOULD YOU!?"

"….No."

"What?"

"No, I wouldn't. Whatever happened, I would stay with them, and face it like a man. Not run away and become a machine."

For a moment, the Cyber-Leader just stood silent. Then, he started to growl, and Ryan felt the pressure on his neck increase.

"I will teach you true suffering, human!"

The last thing Ryan felt before losing consciousness was being let go. The last thing he saw was someone hitting the Cyber-Leader with a large rock.

The Cyber-Leader turned to see the female, wielding a large rock and trying her best to look viscous.

"Just like all of your kind" the Cyber-Leader muttered. "Thinking every problem can be solved if you simply find a large enough rock"

The Cyber-Leader charged her, only for her to step out of his way and hit him with the rock again, this time in his face.

"Right now it seems to be working" Marissa replied.

The Cyber-Leader was surprised; he should have struck her; the damage from the collapse…it must had damaged him more than he thought. His strength, his speed, was down.

But he was still strong enough to kill her.

The Cyber-Leader charged her, and grabbed her arm. Marissa hit his arm with the rock, forcing him to let go.

"I WILL DESTROY YOU!"

Marissa tried to hit him with the rock again, but the Cyber-Leader grabbed it and crushed it to pieces. He then grabbed her and forced her to the hot ground.

Marissa screamed as her face came into contact with the scolding ground. Finally, she managed to break free, and found herself rolling down a hill.

She lifted her self up; putting her hand to her face, she recoiled when she felt the burnt flesh, thankful she couldn't look at herself. She then looked up, to see the Cyber-Leader coming down.

- -

"How the hell is this going to…wow"

Julie was silenced when she stepped into the TARDIS.

"It's bigger on the inside" said Seth, also looking in amazement.

"Really? I hadn't noticed" said Ace as she went up to the control console.

Colonel Lithgow could barley speak.

"Now I now how Schilemann felt when he discovered Troy" he muttered.

"That guy from _the Simpsons_?" asked Julie.

"What do we do?" asked Kirsten, who felt an overwhelming calm. It was strange; she was worried about Ryan, but something about being inside; it was like the TARDIS had a calming effect on everyone.

"Well, in theory, the TARDIS should be able to materialize wherever the Doctor and the others are, and we can rescue them."

"In theory?" asked Luke.

"Well…it…occasionally takes a wrong turn or so, but when it's important, it always gets there. Most of the time."

Ace started to press buttons and pull levers.

"So, you've done this before?" asked Seth.

"…Sure."

- -

Marissa hid behind a boulder, struggling not to tear. Just feet away from her was an opening, some kind of canyon whose pit she couldn't see. There was no where she could run.

What the hell was she thinking? That she would be able to beat that thing? She, the spoiled Newport princess who OD'd in Tijuana?

All that was left for her to do was die.

A shine cut her eye. Reaching into her pockets, she found a gold necklace. It was burnt, having been used on that Cyberman back in their base. She could feel that it was fragile, ready to fall into tiny pieces any moment now. She would only get one chance.

She screamed as she felt a hand touch her shoulder. Reacting quickly, she managed to evade the Cyber-Leader's grasp.

"You will die now, human!" he screeched, his voice dripping with hatred.

Marissa closed her eyes, prayed, and tossed the gold necklace with all her might.

The Cyber-Leader swatted the necklace away. He screamed as it contacted his arm, the specs of gold sprinkling his body with pain. But he still stood.

"That was your last attempt, human-"

He screamed as Marissa, wielding the sharpest rock she could find, stuck it into a patch of exposed flesh on his chest. The Cyber-Leader screamed as he felt the rock cut into his skin, releasing the white coolant that long ago replaced his blood.

Marissa tried to ignore the piercing scream of the Cyber-Leader as she pushed it in even further, ignored the pain as the fluid burned her hands.

The Cyber-Leader collapsed, and started to roll down, dragging the girl with her. Marissa screamed as she felt the heavy hand gripping her leg. She prepared herself to fall, fall for however long this cavern was until she hit. But instead, she felt a hand grab her.

"Ryan" she said weakly as she looked up. The strain was tremendous; the Cyber-Leader still gripped her leg; she was sure that if she didn't let go, she would snap in two.

"Hold on, Marissa" said a Scottish voice.

"Doctor?"

"Oh, that's right, you just met me the other day; you don't how annoyingly hard I am to kill"

The Doctor reached down, and tried to help pull her up.

"I can't hold on for much longer" Ryan moaned.

The Doctor looked down at the Cyber-Leader.

"Let her go" he demanded.

"Never! I may die, but the female will join me!"

"Must everything with you end in death?"

"You were the one responsible for that, Doctor! We wanted to convert them to our way of life; you were the one who told them to fight back, to force us to destroy them!"

"Please, do you still believe that? You have emotions, that much is obvious now! Don't you have any compassion? Any mercy?"

"Mercy? What mercy have you shown my people, Doctor?"

"Fine, then! Prove yourself my better! Can't you end your life with just one act of kindness?"

The Cyber-Leader looked at Ryan and Marissa. He looked up at the Doctor.

"One day, Doctor…one day you will pay for your arrogance"

The Doctor nodded.

"Yes, I imagine I will"

The Cyber-Leader let go. He hoped that Sarah was waiting for him.

- -

"Why isn't this going!" screeched Kirsten.

"I'm trying to-"

"He's going to die!" she screamed again.

"I think she understands, Kirsten" said Julie, trying to calm her friend down. Inside, she was also worried.

"Listen, the TARDIS is complicated, I'm trying my best!" Ace protested.

_The Doctor makes this seems so easy._ She had asked the Doctor at times to explain, but every answer was the equivalent of 'you wouldn't understand.' He was probably telling the truth; humanity hadn't yet discovered even the principals of how the TARDIS worked. But she had to get it work. For Marissa. For Ryan.

For the Doctor.

- -

The ground started to rumble.

"What's going on?" asked Marissa.

"The Cybermen's machine" explained the Doctor. "The aftershocks, the reaction-this whole area is unstable now. I'll say we have a minute, two at most, before it completely collapses."

"How do we get out?"

"Yes, that is the question" the Doctor mumbled, as he looked around the area.

"Well, at least he doesn't look worried" Marissa offered.

"He never looks worried; for all we know, this is how his species looks worried" countered a tense Ryan.

Before the conversion could continue, the ground shook violently again.

"You two, come here" the Doctor called out.

They walked up to him. He was leaning down, pointing to a large opening, the same one the Cyber-Leader had vanished into; Ryan could swear he still heard the faint echoes of his final scream.

"You have a plan"

"We jump"

Ryan and Marissa stood in silence.

"What?"

"It's quite simple; if we stay here, we'll die. As such, we must leave. And the only way out," he pointed to the pit, "is down."

Ryan couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"But-but, we'll die"

Ryan felt Marissa grab him as the ground shook again; it didn't stop. Rocks began to fall from above.

"We won't hit bottom for quite some time" the Doctor replied.

Ryan and Marissa just looked at him. The Doctor sighed.

"I know this is hard for you, I know that every natural instinct is screaming at you not to this; but you have to trust me; do as I say, and I promise you, you WILL survive"

Ryan and Marissa looked around; everywhere, they saw rocks collapsing and turning. They grabbed each other's hands, and stared at each other.

"On a count to three?" suggested Marissa.

"One" began Ryan.

"No time for that" cried out the Doctor, as he pushed both of them off with a thwack of his umbrella, jumping in after them seconds later.

- -

"Come on, come on!" Ace yelled as she hit the control console.

Ace sighed, tuning out the Newport residents, worried about the two Newport teens. She was worried, too; a universe without the Doctor was too horrible to contemplate.

She looked up at the console. According to the Doctor, the TARDIS wasn't just a machine; it was alive; it could think. She was never sure whether he was joking or not.

"If you are alive" she whispered, "I need your help. He needs your help."

She focused on the controls. Everyone else seemed to fade from her consciousness; she started to press buttons; she wasn't choosing them based on any rational reason, just on which seemed right.

"What are you doing, damnit!?" demanded Kirsten, who was resisting the TARDIS' natural calming effect.

"Wait, what's that?" asked Seth.

It was a wheezing, groaning sound; the time converter was rising; everyone began to feel an odd tingling feeling, like when an elevator comes to a stop.

Although they couldn't see from the inside, the TARDIS slowly vanished.

- -

Ryan and Marissa struggled to keep hold of each other as they fell into the abyss; they couldn't speak to each other, couldn't even look at each other because of the air on their face.

Both of them were convinced they were going to die; the only consolation was that they were together.

Suddenly, they heard a weird noise. Ryan thought he was going crazy; why, he though he was falling inside some building, for seconds at a time…

SPLASH!

Ryan swam to the surface, and took a deep breath. He looked around, not believing where he was; an Olympic-sized swimming pool.

"Ryan!" cried out Marissa, who swam towards him. Ryan grabbed her, and kissed her harder than anytime he ever remembered.

"Come now, there'll be time for that later" said a voice. Marissa flushed a deep red when she saw the Doctor looking at them.

"What happened?" asked Ryan.

"The TARDIS; it materialized around us, and gave us a place to land."

"But, but, the velocity" Marissa protested, "the momentum; we should have been dead wherever we hit!"

"Why, yes, we would have" the Doctor said, smiling as he squeezed the water out of his hat, "if the TARDIS hadn't taken removed our momentum."

Marissa thought of replying, but thought better of it.

"Come on, now" motioned the Doctor. "There's a lot of people whom are very eager to see us.

- -

"RYAN!"

"MARISSA!"

The two Newport teens were suddenly surrounded by family and friends, hugging them, asking what happened, if they were okay.

The Doctor slowly walked over to the console, started putting in coordinates, smiling at the warmth of his favorite species. The warmth the Cybermen tried to destroy; the warmth his own people would never understand.

"Professor!"

The Doctor was startled as he felt himself enclosed in a hug.

"Ace, good to see you as well"

After a few moments, Ace let go.

"Surprised, ain't you? That I worked the TARDIS, eh?" Despite the joy at finding him okay, she couldn't resist rubbing in how the 'social misfit' had saved his Gallifreyian ass.

"Ace, you should know by now, I don't take chances" replied the Doctor, smiling.

"What?"

"Ace, back in 1944, when the Haemovores attacked; what do you think I put my faith in?"

Ace shrugged.

"I don't know; that Rassilon guy?"

The Doctor snorted. "Yes, he would've loved that" he muttered to himself, confusing Ace; it sounded like he knew him personally.

"I put my faith where I always have; my companions."

Ace opened her mouth.

"You mean-"

"All of them; Ian, Barbara; Steven, Jamie, Polly; Jo, Sarah, Romana; K9, Nyssa, Tegan, Frobisher, Peri, Evelyn, Mel-"

He patted Ace on the nose. "-And you."

"Me?"

"Of course"

He softened his voice.

"Ace, hundreds of people were tainted by Fenric; if all I wanted was a pawn, anyone of them would have done. But none of them had your sparkling personality, your gift with explosives, and most importantly, none of them had your potential. No of them would have beat up a Dalek with a baseball bat; none of them would have helped free the people of Terra Alpha from Helen A; and one look of the Destroyer would have sent them running. And certainly, none of them would have been able to materialize a rickety old TARDIS around three people in freefall just by instinct; no offence to you, old dear" the Doctor quickly added, patting the TARDIS console.

"So, you risked your life-"

"Like I told you; I don't leave anything to chance."

There was a strange buzzing, and the TARDIS seemed to bump.

"What happened?" asked Luke.

"Oh, we've landed."

"Back in Newport?" asked Marissa.

"Probably. I'll go outside and check."

"Professor, you could just check the screen" Ace pointed out.

"And where's the fun in that?" replied the Doctor as he walked outside.

Seth looked at the screen, showing the world outside; it wasn't Newport; it was some sort of council meeting of an alien race. One he found amusing.

"Heh, Ryan look at these aliens! They're a race of pepper shakers. And they've got plungers for hands! And look at their leader; he's some green guy with a big head!"

"What?" asked Ace, suddenly concerned. Suddenly, outside, they heard laser blasts. The TARDIS door opened, and the Doctor ran in, closing the door behind them. They heard sharp metallic voices from the outside.

"_YOU ARE THE DOCTOR!"_

"_EXTERMINATE!"_

"Sorry, we landed in a bad part of the universe."

The Doctor ran over to the console, and started to program it to leave. He then lifted up his head, as if he remembered something. He grabbed a microphone and talked into it.

"You'll never get the Hand of Omega, Davros!" he yelled. He turned to the clueless Newport residents.

"Just finishing up some finished business" he said. "Let's go home."

"_WE SHALL RECOVER THE HAND OF OMEGA!"_

"_-AN ENEMY OF THE DAL-"_

"_I SHALL DESTROY YOU, DOCTOR!"_


	33. Epilogue

Epilogue

Ryan remembered that day, so many months ago, when Sandy first brought him to Newport. God, it seemed like a lifetime ago; two lifetimes after the events of last night. He remembered how amazing it was; everything was clean and beautiful. It was if he entered some fairy tale kingdom (and indeed, he found himself neighbors with a beautiful princess and an evil witch.)

But now…

The streets were filled with empty cars and fires; various buildings have been torn into by the Cybermen, to grab the hiding humans within. The earthquake had also done damage; several houses had collapsed in, including the Cohen mansion; deep down, Ryan felt relieved; without Sandy, it would had felt very empty.

Without Sandy…that was something he would have to get used to as well. Sandy was gone; Sandy was dead. Because he killed him.

No; Sandy was dead. Ryan wanted to blame himself, hate himself, but he remembered seeing Sandy, converted into a Cyberman; it looked and sounded like Sandy, but the words…it lacked Sandy's joy; his eyes were empty; he knew it wasn't Sandy, just a corpse, a meat puppet dedicated to death and destruction.

"Hey"

Ryan looked up to see Marissa, who walked into the UNIT tent and sat down beside him. A good portion of her face was bandaged.

"Hey" Ryan replied.

"I know I've looked better" she admitted.

"I don't know; I think it gives you a 'bad girl' vibe" Ryan smirked, before leaning in to kiss her.

Marissa giggled. "So…are we, uh, back together?"

"I guess so. I mean, you saved my life and fought a cyborg for me; I think that makes us about even."

Marissa glared at him.

"Okay, we're not even, I owe you now."

Marissa smiled, then leaned in to kiss him.

"So…how are you, uh, dealing, I guess" she then asked.

Ryan shrugged.

"As good as I can, I guess. It's Kirsten and Seth I worry about more. I mean, I saw Sandy when he was…that. I knew he was dead. They didn't."

Marissa nodded.

"How did Kirsten react when you told her?"

"How do you think?"

"That bad?"

Ryan nodded.

"Did she…did she say anything about you."

"No; all she really focused on was that her husband was dead."

"You do know it's not your fault?"

"Yeah, I know. I just wonder if Seth and Kirsten see it that way."

"Don't worry about what Seth said; he was just venting; he even told me himself."

"Where is he, anyway?"

"In Summer's tent, waiting for her to wake up."

- -

Summer slowly opened her eyes.

"AH!" she yelled.

"Summer, what's wrong, what's wrong!?" Seth began to panic.

"Do you know how close you were to my face, you freak!?" Summer replied, and raised her arm to slap him-

-Only to realize it was missing.

"You-uh, it was blasted off" Seth began, tripping over every word; he couldn't remember ever being in a conversation as serious as this.

"Oh" Summer said softly, as if it was no big deal. Seth was silent for a moment.

"They-uh, they say they're going to get you a prosthetic one. Top of the line" he finally said, trying to cheer her up.

"Oh. That's good" she said in the same monotone voice.

"Umm, everyone's okay; Ryan, Marissa, oh, your dad! They found him at the hospital; he had a concussion; he's unconscious now, but they say he's recovering nicely. We could see him later, when you're up to it"

"Yeah, sure" said Summer, no change in her voice.

Seth sighed.

"Summer, I can't do this! I've never been in any situation like this before! Please, just tell me what to do!" he begged.

"I don't know, Seth" replied Summer. "Can you just…stay with me?"

Seth nodded.

- -

"Report"

"Stasis tubes are fully charged"

"Excellent" replied the new Cyber-Leader, "enter for hibernation"

Only a few Cybermen had survived when the _Logic of Zheng_ was shot down. Once it had been confirmed that the main Cyber-force, along with the Cyber-Leader, had been destroyed, he was the promoted to lead what remained.

They had managed to transfer all available power to the stasis pods aboard the _Zheng_; they would go into hibernation, and wait. Soon, humanity would come to explore the ice field they were trapped in; they would find the mysterious craft and enter it; then, the Cybermen would awaken, and convert them; and the invasion would begin again.

The Cybermen would survive this defeat, as they had all others during their history; it was built into them, into their very core. They would survive.

- -

Dawn drank down another can.

She was looking at the newspaper, covering what happened; according to it, it was just an earthquake, but she knew, from talking to other Chino residents, what happened was much odder.

Ryan was supposed to be safe there; that's why she left Ryan with that rich family, to give him the chance he deserved. If only she was a better mother, he would have here, safe…

A figure in a newspaper photo caught her eye. It was a short man, wearing a brown jacket, a question-mark shirt, and a corncob hat. That face…that face was so familiar, but why...

Dawn screamed, and collapsed to the floor. It seemed like a thousand thoughts in her mind were occurring at once.

"_I am NOT like you!"_

"_The Master, he's out there, I've got to stop him"_

"_These shoes, they feet perfectly!"_

"_Grace, I came back to life before your eyes. I held back death!"_

"_Activate the Mind Probe"_

"_You are Dawn"_

Dawn screamed even as the pain started to fade; she grabbed another can, and drank it down as quickly as she could.

- -

Ryan and Marissa were walking when they heard a voice.

"Hey guys"

"Ace" said Ryan. The British girl, followed by the Doctor, walked up to them.

"How are you?" asked Marissa.

"Fine; just wanted to say good bye."

"What, you're leaving."

"Yes, I'm afraid so; the odd thing about being a Time Lord is that there never seems to be enough time" said the Doctor.

"But Newport is so damaged, everything needs to be repaired-" protested Ryan.

"Trust me, you'll be able to handle that yourselves. Our job is done."

Ryan was about to reply, but decided to drop it.

"Well, thanks for everything; I doubt we any of us would be alive if it weren't for you two."

"Nope" confirmed Ace, smiling.

"You think we'll ever see you again?" asked Marissa.

"Oh, perhaps; all of time and space is a lot smaller than you imagine."

- -

The Doctor and Ace walked into the console room.

"Well, that was fun" said the Doctor.

"That's one word for it, I guess" commented Ace. "So, where to now?"

"Well, let's see"

The Doctor typed at the console, and looked at a screen listing various crisises.

"Hmmm, an Axon ship has landed in revolutionary France; scientists in Japan are about to open a portal to the realm of the Dark Ones; ooh, the Quarks and their giant wasps are going to attack a peace conference between the Human and Draconian Empires-"

The Doctor then looked at Ace, who was nodding, somewhat of a sad look on her face.

"But, those can wait."

Ace looked up, surprised.

"Huh?"

"This is a time machine, Ace; we can deal with all those later. Tell me, where do _you_ want to go?"

Ace thought about it for a moment.

"Well…this is kind of dumb" she began, "but seeing Ryan and Marissa and all of them, it kind of makes me want to check out the old gang; Derek and Shrella and all of them."

"Very well, then; Perivale, early 1980s."

The Doctor set in the coordinates.

"Any thing we should watch out for; any Haemovores or Cybermen?"

"No, just a few stray cats."

- -

Newport would recover from the invasion; indeed, it proved be ahead of the trend. Two years later, an alien craft would crash into Big Ben; after that, alien invasions became a regular occurrence, each one seemingly more grandiose than the next.

Kirsten Cohen eventually got of her depression, and got back to work, rebuilding the city her father built; ironically, Julie Cooper, formerly one of her least favorite persons in the world, became a friend both in business and social life, eventually getting her to go out dating again.

In some ways, Newport became a better place; its citizens now gave more to charity, and no longer just as an excuse for parties and looking good. The whole experience seemed to make them kinder people.

But there was still a dark side to Newport now. Every now and then, they would look into the sky, and wonder who was looking back at them. They would always look back, to see if that mannequin or angel statue had moved while they weren't looking. They always looked when their children said they saw a monster in their closet, or under the bed.

Because they knew better know; they knew that monsters existed, waited for them in the dark. They knew to fear.

But they also knew to be brave. For they knew that monsters had nightmares too; they had met the man the monsters feared. And they knew he was out there as well.


End file.
